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" Coming to the Call " 
From a Painting by Carl Rungius 



THE MOOSE BOOK 

FACTS AND STORIES FROM 
NORTHERN FORESTS 

BY 

SAMUEL MERRILL 



ILLUSTRATED WITH REPRODUCTIONS OF PAINT- 
INGS, DRAWINGS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS 
BY CARL RUNGIUS AND OTHERS 




NEW YORK 
E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 

681 FIFTH AVENUE 



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Copyright, 1916 

BY 

E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY 



Printed in the United States of America 

NOV 16 1916 
©CI,A446442 



PREFACE 

The grand prize in the lottery of American 
sportsmanship is the moose. The domain of the 
giant deer stretches across the broad northland, 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In this territory- 
thousands of moose are taken every year; to it tens 
of thousands of hunters go annually, in the cool 
autumn days, rifle in hand, seeking health and 
recreation, and hoping that they too may win the 
chief prize of the chase. Meanwhile no book has 
been published which has been devoted exclusively 
to the history of the moose, his habits and habitat, 
and the methods of hunting him. 

Much of the material contained In these pages 
was gathered during the hunting trips of many 
years in the best moose country of Eastern America. 
The experiences and views of many guides and 
many sportsmen, told beside the fires of many 
camps, jotted down at the time in little vest- 
pocket note-books, and sifted and verified by 
personal observation, have found their places 



IV 



PREFACE 



here, together with the fruits of the author's own 
experience. 

PubUshed works in various languages in which 
facts relating to the moose and his European 
kinsman are to be found have been carefully 
studied, and by free use of footnotes, citing authori- 
ties in every branch of the subject, the reader 
is given the bibliography of the moose and moose 
hunting. Most quotations from ancient writers 
are from the first editions, and the extracts con- 
form closely in the use of capitals and punctuation 
marks, as well as in spelling, to the originals. In 
the extracts from old French writers the accents 
to which modern readers are accustomed are in 
many cases lacking. This lack is due to typo- 
graphical carelessness in the ancient printing shops 
and not to oversight on the part of the present 
printers. 

American writers have generally ignored the elk 
of the Old World, albeit the moose and the Euro- 
pean elk are practically of the same species, and 
indistinguishable. Most of the facts given in 
these pages regarding the moose's European and 
Asiatic congener have been hitherto unpublished 
in English. 

The author wishes to acknowledge obligation 
to Mr. Carl Rungius, who has kindly consented 



PREFACE V 

to the use of reproductions of four of his paint- 
ings, and to the American Museum of Natural 
History, Mr. Julian A. Dimock, and others who 
have courteously permitted the use of their 
pictures in these pages. 

Cambridge, Mass. 
June I, 1916. 



CONTENTS 

PART I— THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

CHAPTER 

I.— The Moose and His History. 
n. — American Range of the Moose 
HI.— Traits and Habits of the Moose 
IV. — Still-Hunting 
V. — Calling the Moose 
VI. — Miscellaneous Hunting Methods 
VII. — Arms and Equipment . 
VIII. — Heads AND Horns 
IX. — Moose Meat as Food . 
X. — The Future of the Moose . 
XI. — The Names of the Moose 
XII.— The Moose in Indian Myth 

PART II— THE OLD-WORLD ELK 
XI 1 1. — The Elk, Past and Present . 
XIV. — Range of the Elk in Europe and Asia 



3 
32 

63 
99 
120 
132 
152 
166 
204 
220 
232 
245 



271 

288 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

XV.— Traits and Habits of the Elk 
XVI. — How THE Elk is Hunted 
XVn. — Antlers OF the Elk 
XVH I.— Misbeliefs about the Elk . 
Index ..... 



PAGE 
300 

334 
346 

357 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Frontispiece 



"Coming TO THE Call" 

From a painting by Carl Rungius 

Lescarbot's Moose .... 

Game in New Netherland 

In the Heart of the Moose Country 

From a photograph by the author 

Michigan's Heraldic Moose 
Present Range of Cervus Alces [map] 

From a drawing by the author 

An Alaska Moose .... 

From a painting by Carl Rungius 

MoosELEUK Mountain, Maine, from Munsungan 
Lake ....•••• 
From a photograph by the author 

A 55-Inch New Brunswick Head. 

From a photograph by Carl Rungius 

An Unrecorded Tragedy ..... 

From a photograph by Carl Rungius 

A Battle between Bulls 

From a painting by Carl Rungius 
ix 



PAGE 



7" 

20- 

29' 
32' 

41- 

56 

65 

65- 

Sv 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



A Calf Moose ...... 

From a photograph by Julian A. Dimock 
Skull of a Moose ..... 

From a drawing by the author 

November in the Moose Woods 

From a photograph by the author 

Hunting against the Wind 

Hunting with the Wind .... 

Good Country FOR Calling. 

Before the Battle ..... 

From a painting by Carl Rungius 

Crust Hunting in the Seventeenth Century 
Bringing in a Good Specimen 

From a photograph by Carl Rungius 

A Guide and a Trophy .... 

From a photograph by the author 

Antlers in the Velvet .... 

From a photograph by Carl Rungius 

The Record Spread — 78^2 Inches 

From a photograph 

The Reed-McMillan Antlers 

From a photograph 

The Niedieck Antlers .... 

From a drawing by the author 

From the Canadian Rockies 



PACK 

88^ 



99 

III 
1 12 

123 
130 

>39 
144 



• 



/ 



y 



/ 



162^' 

172* 

177 > 

178" 

179 

181 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



XI 



Mr. Selous's Yukon Trophy 

From a drawing by Carl Rungius 

Cast Antlers Found in British Columbia 

New Brunswick's Widest Spread 

Manitoba's Best Head 

Minnesota's Best Head 

A 7 1 -Inch Head from Ontario . 

F. H. Cook's New Brunswick Moose-head 

Measurement of Moose Antlers 

A Head cannot be Judged by Spread alone 

From a drawing by Carl Rungius 

A Hungarian Design ..... 

From a drawing by the author 

A Moosehorn Napkin Ring. 

Dewclaw Bones of Moose .... 

Trophies Brought TO Camp. 

From a photograph by Carl Rungius 

An Old Logging Camp, .... 
A Logging Camp in the New Brunswick Woods 
The Moose in Politics .... 
Restoration of Irish Elk .... 

From a drawing by Charles R. Knight 
A Vista in the Moose Country . 

From a photograph by Carl Rungius 



PAGB 
182 



183 

184 
184 
184 
185 
188 
190 

>93 

196 

199' 

200 

217 

232 
232 
234 
244 

257 



xu 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Good Moose Cover .... 
Hunting Russian Elk 

From a painting by Richard Friese 

An Elk Drive ..... 

From a painting by K. Wysotzki 

An Asiatic Rock-Carving . 
The Elk According to Munster (1554) 
Aldrovandus's Female Elk (1621) 
Head of Male Elk (Aldrovandus, 162 i) 
Buffon's Elk ..... 
Sledge Drawn by Elk (Magnus, 1555) 
Brought to Bay .... 

From a drawing by A. Erikson 

A Scandinavian Poacher's Device 

A Peculiar Siberian Type . 

Fossil Antlers from Russian Poland 

Best Elk Antlers at the Vienna Exhibition 

An Eight-Year-Old from Livonia 

Antlers of an Old Elk 

Alces Bedfordi/E .... 

Elk Attacked by Epilepsy (Pomet, 1735) 



, 1910 



257 
271 

271 

273/ 

277. 

278-' 

279- 

283' 

308- 

321^ 

332 

335 
336 

338 
340 
341 
344 
349 



THE MOOSE BOOK 



Parti 

The American Moose 



CHAPTER I 

THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 

In a plea for the preservation of the moose 
Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the 
New York Zoological Society, has said, "Nature 
has been a million years in developing that wonder- 
ful animal, and man should not ruthlessly destroy 
it!" 

A million years ! The imagination is helpless in 
attempting to grasp the idea of such a period of 
time, and the events which have taken place in 
it. 

The ancestral home of the moose {Cervus alces) 
in prehistoric times was probably in Asia. Pro- 
fessor Osborn quotes Sir Victor Brooke as main- 
taining that the Cervidce originated in Asia, and 
thence spread east and west.' But at just what 
stage in this little matter of a million years the 
first moose wandered into America over the land 

» The Age of Mammals in Europe, Asia, and North America (New 
York, 1910), p. 418. 

3 



4 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

which then connected the two continents at 
Bering Strait, we shall never know. According 
to Professor William Berryman Scott of Princeton 
University the moose, the caribou, and the wapiti 
came from the Old World to the New not earlier 
than the Pleistocene.'' The moose seems to have 
preceded the caribou and the wapiti in the long 
migration. At any rate, the moose was present 
on the western half of the continent in the later 
Pleistocene, when the Glacial Era was drawing to a 
close.^ The ancestors of the white-tailed or Vir- 
ginia deer doubtless came from the same far-away 
Asiatic home, but in an earlier geologic age. How 
far south the moose ranged at that early day is 
not known, but his fossil remains are said to have 
been found south of the Ohio and Missouri 
rivers.'* 

'A Hi tory of Land Mammals in the Western Hemisphere (New York, 
1913), p. 413. 

3 Ibid., p. 202. Geologists variously estimate the period which has 
elapsed since the Pleistocene as from 100,000 to 200,000 years. Those 
of us who carry split-second watches will wonder at the inability of the 
geologists to measure time with more precision. 

* Osbom, ubi supra, p. 449. Professor Osborn (pp. 471-472) mentions 
fossil bones of "Alces^' as found in southern South Carolina. He cites 
as an authority Francis S. Holmes in the American Journal of Science, 
1858, pp. 442-443, and in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences, 1859, pp. 177-185. But Professor Holmes in his list names 
the "elk" as represented among the fossil remains, meaning, no doubt, 
the American elk, or wapiti {Cervus canadensis), not the European elk, 
or moose {Cervus alces or Alces americanus). This is an instance of 
the confusion which has been entailed by the misnaming of the wapiti 
by the early settlers in America. See p. 237. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 5 

It Is impossible to say what European traveler 
in North America first encountered the moose. 
The earhest explorers on this continent were not 
sportsmen; they knew little about the deer of 
Europe, and were untrained as writers. As a 
result they have left us meager Information 
relating to the characteristics or the numbers of 
the various species of deer which they found in 
their travels. 

Jacques Cartier, who explored the valley of the 
St. Lawrence In 1535, and spent the winter there, 
mentions various wild beasts which the Indians 
hunted. Including "dains" and "cerfz.*'^ Hiram 
B. Stephens, B.C.L., translates dains by the word 
"moose," but expresses doubt of the identity 
of the animal.^ In several other places Cartier 
mentions "Cerfz iff Dains," and tells how he 
bought the meat of these animals from the Indians 
In the winter for his men, who were dying of scurvy, 
and were unable to hunt. As the Indian equiva- 
lents of these words he gives " Aiounesta y As- 
quenoudoy" but these words are not to be found 
in any of the Indian word-lists of other writers. 
There is little reason to doubt, however, that one 

s Narration de la Navigation faite en MDXXX V et MDXXX VI par 
Le Capilaine Jacques Cartier aux lies de Canada, Ilochelaga, Saguenay et 
autres, fol. 31. 

^ Jacques Cartier andHis Four Voyagesto Canada (Montreal, i89o),p. 71. 



6 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

or the other was the moose, for the great captain 
bought his winter store of meat from the Indians, 
and the Indians of that region depended largely 
on the moose for their own subsistence. 

Champlain in 1603, and Lescarbot a year or 
two later, visited "New France," and both left 
valuable accounts of the country, its inhabitants 
and its fauna. Both explorers adopted the Basque 
word orenac when referring to the moose, and 
both seemed to recognize the animal as identical 
with the elk of Europe. 

In The Savages, or Voyage of Sleur de Cham- 
plain made in the Year 1603, Champlain mentions 
" orignacs" first in a list of twelve species of ani- 
mals on which the savages of the St. Lawrence 
Valley subsisted. A year later, telling of his 
exploration of the lower Kennebec, he describes 
the winter hunting of the aborigines. On snow- 
shoes, with "filling" of moose hide, dressed in 
skins of beaver and moose, men, women, and 
children, armed with bows and spears, would take 
the trail into the moose country, in quest of their 
winter's store of food.^ 

Marc Lescarbot of Paris, historian of New 

? " Durant I'hyver aufort des neges Us vont chasser aux eslans, &" autres 
bestes, dequoy Us vivent la plus-part du temps.'' — Les Voyages de la Nouvelle 
Fra7ice Occidentale, dicte Canada (Paris, 1632), p. 71. Les Voyages du 
Sieur de Champlain (Paris, 1613), pp. 56-57. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 



France, lawyer, poet, and Huguenot sympathiser, 
spent some time with de Monts' colony in Acadia. 



r'o'^.V.-l 









Lescarbot's Moose 

On his map of Port Royal (AnnapoHs Basin, Nova 
Scotia), he shows *' Rliviere] de I'Orignac." This 
is represented on recent maps under the name of 
Moose River. It is a short and insignificant 
stream when the tide is out, but twice a day. 



8 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

thanks to the extraordinary tidal action in the 
Bay of Fundy, it is capable of floating vessels 
of considerable size. Indeed, shipbuilding on a 
respectable scale has been carried on along its 
banks. 

This map is entitled ''Figure du Port Royal en 
la Nouvelle France, par Marc Lescarbot, i6og** 
On its lower margin, close to the river which was 
named in its honor, stands a moose. This is 
probably the earliest picture of the American 
moose which has come down to us. 

" First let us speak of the elk, '* writes Lescarbot, 
"which they [the Indians] call Jptaptou, and our 
Basques Orignac. ... It is the most abundant 
food which the savages have, except fish."^ 

Lescarbot describes a winter hunting trip of the 
savages, when with their dogs they sought out 
the moose, helpless by reason of the deep snow 
on which crust had formed. "We made a very 
luxurious repast with this tender venison," he 
writes. "After the roast we had soup, quickly 
prepared in abundance by a savage who made a 
trough with his ax, from the trunk of a tree, in 
which he stewed the meat. . . . This was accom- 

* " Premilrement parlons de I' Elian lequel Us appellent Aptaptou, fif 
noz Basques Orignac. . . . Cest la plus ahondante manne qu'ayent les 
Sauvages apres le poisson." — Lescarbot, Histoire de la Nouvelle France 
(Paris, 1609), p. 811. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 9 

pllshed by putting stones, brought to a red heat 
in the fire, into the trough, and renewing them 
until the meat was cooked. Joseph Acosta says 
that the savages of Peru do the same thing."^ 

An Indian banquet which Champlain witnessed 
near the mouth of the Saguenay he thus described: 
"After he had finished his speech we left his 
cabin, and they began their tabagie or feast, which 
they make with the flesh of the orignac (which is 
like beef), the bear, seals, and beavers, which are 
their most common meats, and game birds in 
quantity. They had eight or ten kettles, full of 
meat, in the cabin. These were some six paces 
from each other, and each with its own fire." 

The guests were seated on two sides of the cabin, 
each having his own bark dish. Champlain was 
not favorably impressed by the table manners of 
the Indians. "They eat in a very filthy manner," 
he wrote, "for when their hands are greasy they 
wipe them on their hair, or on their dogs, of which 
they keep many for hunting."'" 

Some years later Nicolas Denys, who lived 
among the Indians of Acadia, described the Indian 
method of making kettles. Huge fallen trees 



» Uhi supra, p. 813. 

" Des Sauvages, ou, Voyage de Samuel Champlain, de Brouage, faict 
en la France nouvelle, Van mil six cens trois (Paris, 1604), fol. 4. 



10 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

were utilized, the upper surface being leveled 
off, and a trough-like excavation made by the use 
of fire and stone axes. These kettles, laboriously 
made, determined the places of their camps, until 
the white men brought iron kettles, which could 
be easily carried on their journeys." 

Until the introduction of gunpowder the Ameri- 
can Indian was practically on even terms with the 
European hunter in respect to weapons for the 
chase. He still used stone, or pointed bones, 
instead of metal, for the heads of his spears and 
arrows, but his cleverness in fashioning barbed 
spear heads and arrow heads, with wonder- 
fully sharp edges, from flint, and in fixing them 
to the shafts, cannot be equaled by the men of 
today. 

Many of the Old-World hunters had replaced 
the long-bow by the cross-bow, and some had 
supplanted both by the arquebus, at the time when 
the Old World and the New first met. But the 
efl^ective range of the early firearms was wofully 
short. According to Greener, **a reliable match 
decided at Pacton Green, Cumberland, in August, 
1792, resulted in a grand victory for the bow. The 
distance was one hundred yards, the bow placing 

" Description Geographique et Historique des Costes de VAmhique 
Septentrionale (Paris, 1672), vol. ii., p. 359. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY ii 

sixteen arrows out of twenty into the target, and 
the ordinary musket twelve balls only."''' 

The Indian's bow was not so long as the English- 
man's, but he was very skilled in its use. Denys 
wrote from Acadia in 1672 that its effective range 
against moose was forty-five or fifty paces, '^ a 
range which offered less difficulty to the stealthy, 
soft-footed Indian than to us who are accustomed 
to walk on city pavements. 

The snares and pitfalls devised by the Indians, 
and the barriers erected to guide driven game into 
slaughter pens, as described by the earliest Euro- 
pean visitors to America, show a marked resem- 
blance to the contrivances in use for the same 
purposes in medieval Europe. Necessity is the 
mother of invention, and we need not wonder if 
similar necessities produced similar inventions. 

The narratives of the earliest European ex- 
plorers in America are given in the great folios 
which Samuel Purchas published in 1625 under 
the title Purchas His Pilgrimes. Quoting Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges he thus describes the moose: 

"There is also a certaine Beast, that the Natives 
call a Mosse, hee is as big bodied as an Oxe. . . . 
His taile is longer then the Single''* of a Deere, 

'' The Gun and Its Development, sixth edition (1897), p. 12. 

'3 Ubi supra, vol. ii., pp. 420-423. '•< The tail of a buck. 



12 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

and reacheth almost downe to his Huxens.** . . . 
There have beene many of them seene in a great 
Hand upon the Coast, called by our people Mount 
Mans ell, ^^ whither the Savages goe at certaine 
seasons to hunt them [by driving into the water]. 
. . . And there is hope that this kind of Beasts 
may be made serviceable for ordinary labour, 
with Art and Industry."'^ 

At the time of its publication in 1634 William 
Wood's Nezv Englands Prospect was the most com- 
plete account of New England, its climate, soil, 
fauna, etc., which had been written. The author 
had spent four years in the Colony. He wrote in a 
light vein, possessed a lively imagination, and some- 
times dropped into verse, his enumeration of the 
beasts of the country being in the following lines: 

The kingly Lyon, and the strong arvid Beare 
The large lirnd Mooses, with the tripping Deare, 
Quill darting Porcupines, and Rackcoones bee, 
Castelld in the hollow of an aged tree; 

»« Hock. ** Mount Desert Island. 

'' Purchas His Pilgrimes (London, 1625), tenth book, "English Dis- 
coveries and Plantations in New England and New-found-land," chap. i. 
Gorges, A Brief Relation of the Discovery and Plantation of New England 
(London, 1622), pp. 26-27. An earlier mention of the moose by this 
name — perhaps the earliest in any book — appears in the edition of 
'PuTcha.s's Pilgrimage published in 1614, p. 755: "Captaine Thomas 
Hanham sayled to the Riuer of Sagadahoc 1606. He relateth of their 
beasts . . . redde Deare, and a beast bigger, called the Mus." 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 13 

The skipping Squerrell, Rabbet, purblinde HarCy 
Immured in the selfesame Castle are. 
Least red-eyd Ferrets, wily Foxes should 
Them undermine, if rampird^^ but with mould. 
The grim jaci Ounce, and ravenous howling Woolje, 
Whose meagre paunch suckes like a swallowing 

gulfe. 
Blacke glistering Otters, and rich coated Bever, 
The Civet sented Musquash smelling ever.^^ 

*The beast called a Moose," he explains, "is 
not much unlike red Deare, this beast is as bigge 
as an Oxe; slow of foote, headed like a Bucke, 
with a broade beame, some being two yards wide 
in the head, their flesh is as good as Beefe, their 
hides good for cloathing; The English have some 
thoughts of keeping them tame, and to accustome 
them to the yoake, which will be a great commoditie : 
First because they are so fruitfull, bringing forth 
three at a time, being likewise very uberous. 
Secondly, because they will live in winter without 
any fodder. There be not many of these in the 
Massachusets hay, but forty miles to the Northeast 
there be great store of them; These pore beasts 
likewise are much devoured by the Woolves/' 
Thomas Morton, the gay roysterer of Merry 

«» Ramparted. 19 Part i., chap. vi. 



14 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Mount, who was devoted to hunting, described 
New England and its resources in his New English 
Canaan. Morton wrote "upon tenne yeares know- 
ledge and experiment of the Country." In the 
fifth chapter of his second book, "Of the Beasts 
of the forrest, " he describes three kinds of deer. 

"First, therefore I will speake of the Elke, 
which the Salvages call a Mose: it is a very large 
Deare, with a very faire head, and a broade palme, 
like the palme of a fallow Deares home, but much 
bigger, and is 6. footewide betweene the tipps, 
which grow curbing downwards: Hee is of the big- 
nesse of a great horse. 

"There have bin of them, scene that has bin i8. 
handfulls highe: hee hath a bunch of haire under 
his jawes: he is not swifte, but stronge and large 
in body, and longe legged; in somuch that hee 
doth use to kneele, when hee feedeth on grasse. 

"Hee bringeth forth three faunes, or younge 
ones, at a time; and being made tame, would be 
good for draught, and more usefull (by reason of 
their strength) then the Elke of Raushea. These 
are found very frequent, in the northerne parts of 
New England, their flesh is very good foode, and 
much better then our redd Deare of England. 

"Their bids are by the Salyages converted into 
very good lether, and dressed as white as milke. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 15 

"Of this lether, the Salvages make the best 
shooes, and use to barter away the sklnnes to other 
Salvages, that have none of that kinde of bests 
in the parts where they live. Very good buffe 
may be made of the bids, I have seene a hide as 
large as any horse hide that can be found. There 
is such abundance of them that the Salvages, at 
hunting time, have killed of them so many, that 
they have bestowed six or seaven at a time, upon 
one English man whome they have borne affection 
to."^° 

With the establishment of the Jesuit missions 
in New France in 161 1 a new class of writers began 
making contributions to the history of the moose. 
The missionaries in their Relations, or reports 
of the events in their forest parishes sent from 
year to year to their superiors in the old country, 
make frequent mention of the animal which they 
call I'elan or rorignal. Like the Indians, the 
priests were dependent on the moose for food in 
winter, and like the Indians they went hungry 
when for lack of deep crusted snow the hunters 
with their primitive weapons were unable to 

«o New English Canaan (Amsterdam, 1637), pjj. 74-75. Morton was 
a lawyer of Clifford's Inn, London. His unpuritanical conduct twice 
entailed banishment from New England, and after the publication of 
his "scandalous book" his return to Boston brought him a year in 
prison. 



I6 THE Ah4ERICAhI MOOSE 

capture game. Often they tell of sustaining 
life by eating acorns, lichens, and remnants of 
moose skin, because the hunt had failed.^^ 

"The snow not being deep, as in other years," 
wrote Fr. Bressani, an Italian missionary, in 1653, 
**they could not take the great beasts ['gran 
bestie,* moose,] but only some beavers or porcu- 
pines. . . . An eelskin was deemed a sumptuous 
supper; I had used one for mending my robe, but 
hunger obliged me to unstitch and eat it. We 
ate the dressed skins of the great beast, though 
tougher than that of the eels. I would go into the 
woods to gnaw the tenderest part of the trees, and 
the softer bark. . . . The snow came toward the 
end of January, and our hunters captured some 
great beasts, and smoked their flesh, so much 
that it became as hard as a stick of wood." . . . 
Meanwhile some of the Indians in the neighborhood 
died of starvation." 

The Indians were the principal hunters of 
moose, though it was recorded that "many of our 
Frenchmen have killed thirty or forty apiece."^^ 
The skins were an important article of commerce, 
and at Tadousac, a trading post at the mouth 

»i Jesuit Relations (Cleveland, 1899), vol. Iv, (1670-71), pp. 151- 
153; vol. xxxvii., pp. 193-195. 
" Ibid., vol. xxxix., pp. 113-115. 
" Ibid. (1659-60), vol. xlv., p. 193. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 17 

of the Saguenay, more than five hundred moose 
skins were handled in the way of trade in 1648.^* 
This of course did not include the many used by 
the savages in making their clothing.^^ 

Several writers suggested the possibility of 
domesticating the moose, hoping thus to avoid 
some of the hardships of their long journeys to 
the distant missions. Fr. Le Jeune, superior of 
the "Residence of Kebec," wrote in 1636 that the 
French Governor had two bull moose and one cow 
in captivity, which he was seeking to domesticate.^* 
The experiment was evidently a failure, for no 
further mention of the captives is made. 

Many accounts are given of the Indian feasts. 
These functions were frequent, and varied in 
character, but the gluttony of the red men in times 
of plenty, and the disregard of rules of cleanliness 
in preparing the food, make the savage banquets 
seem anything but attractive. 

Each guest took with him to the feast his own 
bark dish and wooden spoon. The choicer por- 

'* Jes. Rel., vol. xxxii., p. 103. 

's A good description of the moose-skin garments of the Indians is 
given by Fr. Le Jcune, writing in 1634-35. See Jes. Rel., vol. vii., pp. 
15-17. The skin of the moose as material for clothing was valued by 
the white man also. Alexander Bradford of Dorchester, Mass., by 
his will, proved in 1645, bequeathed a "Moose Suite & a musket & 
Sworde & bandilieres & vest." (New England Historical and Genea- 
logical Register, vol. iii. [1849], p. 82.) 

'^ Jes. Rel., vol. ix., pp. 131, 165. 



18 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

tions were not divided. The tongue of a moose 
would be given to a single person, the tail and 
head of a beaver to another. These were the 
best pieces, and were called "the captain's part." 
"As for the fat intestines of the moose, which are 
their great delicacies, they usually roast them, 
and let every one taste them, as also another dish 
which they hold in high esteem, namely, the 
large intestine of the beast filled with grease, 
and roasted, fastened to a cord, hanging and 
turning before the fire."^^ 

In seasons of plenty some of the meat would be 
dried and smoked for future use. As a prelimi- 
nary the juice would be forced out, as far as 
possible, by pounding with stones and trampling 
with the feet. Whole sides of moose would be 
dried at once, the bones being removed, and where 
the masses of flesh were thick, deep slashes would 
be cut to enable the smoke to penetrate.^* The 
missionaries speak often of eating this dried 

'7 Fr. Le Jeune, writing in 1634. See Jes. Rel., vol. vi., p. 281. 

»* Ibid., vol. vi., p. 297. The dried meat of the western country is 
first cut into thin strips, and is seasoned with pepper and salt. The 
strips are laid for drjnng on a framework of poles about four feet from 
the ground, and a slow fire, preferably of black birch, furnishes heat 
and smoke for the curing process. When required for use the meat is 
pounded fine and made into soup, but it may be eaten dry. This sort 
of meat is commonly called "jerky" — a corruption of "char qui," a 
Peruvian word meaning dried meat. — See Kephart, Book of Camping 
and Woodcraft (N. Y., 1906), p. 222. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 19 

meat, but none of them have any compHments 
to waste on it. It was hard and tasteless — but 
it would support life. 

The savages made no use of salt in their food, 
and vegetables and cereals were often lacking. 
The sole dish at many of their tabagies, or 
feasts, was an unseasoned stew into which were 
thrown masses of any meat that happened 
to be at hand, without regard to any culinary 
rules. 

In a vellum-bound folio, profusely illustrated 
with steel-plate engravings, Arnoldus Montanus 
told the people of Holland in the seventeenth 
century of the wonders of the two Americas. His 
book is entitled The New and Unknown World; 
or Description of America and the Southern Land.^^ 
It was published in Amsterdam in 1671. A trans- 
lation of Montanus's Description of New Nether- 
land is given in O'Callaghan's Documentary History 
of the State of New York?"" New Netherland, 
according to the Dutch writer, was bounded by 
Virginia on the southwest, by New England on 
the northeast, by the ocean on the southeast, 
and by the River Canada (St. Lawrence) on the 

»9 De Nieuwe en Onbekende Weereld: of Beschryving van America en 
't Zuid-land. 

30 Published in Albany, 1851; see vol. iv., pp. 75-83. 
2 



20 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

north, while "northwesterly, inland, it remains 
wholly unknown." 

"South of New Netherland," writes Montanus, 
"are found numerous elks (eelanden), animals 
which, according to Erasmus Stella,^^ constitute 




Game in New Netherland 

a middle class between horses and deer. They 
appear to derive their Dutch appellation from 
elende (misery), because they die of the smallest 
wound, however strong they may otherwise be; 
also, because they are frequently afflicted with 
epilepsy. . . . When hunted they spew hot water 



" Stella wrote, in Latin, early in the sixteenth century, of the elk of 
Prussia. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 21 

out on the dogs. They possess great strength of 
hoof, so as to strike a wolf dead at a blow. Their 
flesh, either fresh or salted, is very nutritious; the 
hoofs cure the falling sickness." 

Montanus was evidently writing of the moose, 
which is the elk of Europe, but he was clearly at 
fault in placing the habitat of the moose south 
of New Netherland. His plate, showing some of 
the wild animals of New Netherland, is reproduced 
herewith. In it are shown the moose, the unicorn 
(which Montanus said was found "on the borders 
of Canada"), and a great blood-drinking eagle. 
A beaver, in the foreground of the picture, seems to 
be amused at the company in which he finds himself. 

John Josselyn, an English physician, the son of 
a baronet, who made two extended visits to New 
England in the seventeenth century, spending 
much of his time in what is now Maine, has left us 
a description of the moose. 

"The Moose or Elke is a Creature, or rather 
if you will a Monster of superfluity," he writes. 
"A full grown Moose is many times bigger than an 
English Oxe, their horns as I have said elsewhere, 
very big (and brancht out into palms) the tips 
whereof are sometimes found to be two fathom 
asunder (a fathom is six feet from the tip of one 
finger to the tip of the other, that is four cubits). 



22 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

and in height from the toe of the forefoot, to the 
pitch of the shoulder twelve foot, both which hath 
been taken by some of my sceptique Readers to 
be monstrous lyes."^^ 

Before we criticise too severely Josselyn and 
others of his time who made statements which 
seem to us willfully exaggerated, we should consider 
the circumstances under which they wrote. Cre- 
dulity, not mendacity, was the failing of the age. 
Independent thought and research were dis- 
couraged, and in some fields forbidden. The 
gallows had not yet been erected on which to 
hang the witches of Salem. . . . Perhaps some- 
one had seen limbs of small trees broken by brows- 
ing moose at a height of twelve feet from the ground, 
and had foolishly assumed and asserted that there 
were moose in the woods which were twelve feet 
tall: if Josselyn had seen a thousand moose, none 
of which exceeded six feet in height, he would 
have been simply following the example of his 
age if he accepted the larger dimension without a 
question. 

In his earlier work, Nezu Englands Rarities 
Discovered (London, 1672), Josselyn paid some 
attention to the medicinal and culinary qualities 

^^ An Account of Two Voyages to New England, hy ]ohn Josselyn, 
Gent. (London, 1674), p. 88. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 23 

of the moose. "Their flesh is not dry like Deers 
flesh/' he writes, "but moist and lushious some- 
what like Horse flesh (as they judge that have 
tasted of both) but very wholsome. The flesh 
of their Fawns is an incomparable dish, beyond the 
flesh of an Asses Foal so highly esteemed by the 
Romans, or that of young Spaniel Puppies so much 
cried up in our days in France and England'' 

The scientific men of Josselyn's time took the 
old doctor seriously, and his account of the moose 
was published in the Transactions of the Royal 
Society of London, "to the right honourable and 
most illustrious the President & Fellows" of which 
he dedicated his book. 

Another writer in the Transactions of the Royal 
Society was Hon. Paul Dudley, F.R.S., Chief 
Justice of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. 
Judge Dudley lived in Roxbury, which is now a 
part of Boston. His paper, published in 1721, is 
entitled A Description of the Moose-Deer in America. 
His statements are derived "partly from my own 
Knowledge, and partly from the Information of 
Men of Ingenuity and Probity, that are better 
acquainted with it." 

Judge Dudley begins by referring to Josselyn's 
account of the moose, which he called "imperfect." 

"Of Moose there are two sorts," he writes. 



24 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

"the Common light grey Moose, by the Indians 
called JVampoose;^^ these are more like the ordi- 
nary Deer, spring like them, and herd sometimes 
to thirty in a Company. And then there are 
the large, or black Moose, of which I shall now 
give you the following Account. First, That he is 
the Head of the Deer-kind, has many things in 
Common with other Deer, in many things differs, 
but in all very superiour. . . . He has a very 
short Bob for a Tail. Mr. Neal, in his late History 
of this Country, speaking of the Moose, says 
they have a long Tail; but that Gentleman was 
imposed on, as to other things besides the Moose. 
Our Hunters have found a Buck, or Stagg-Moose, 
of fourteen Spans in heighth from the Withers, 
reckoning nine inches to a Span; a quarter of his 
Venison weighed more than two hundred pounds. 
A few Years since, a Gentleman surprized one of 
these black Moose, in his Grounds within two 
miles of Boston; it proved a Doe or Hind of the 
fourth Year: After she was dead, they measured 
her upon the Ground, from the Nose to the Tail, 
between ten and eleven Feet, she wanted an Inch 
of seven Foot in height. The Horns of the Moose, 
when full grown, are between four and five Foot 
from the Head to the Tip, and have seven Shoots 

IS The wapiti. 



jiiR 




^'v ' . ^\WM 


M 


'^Kg^ 




<M, 


O 


.- V ■:-'^- ' 




A'a^ '^igigl -..J."-*'****^ 


wmm 


GiflHlMiS^ ->. ^M 



'-^m 







In the Heart of the Moose Cotintry 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 25 

or Branches to each Horn, and generally spread 
about six Foot/'^^ 

The range of the moose will be discussed in a 
subsequent chapter. The causes which would 
affect the numbers of moose within this range 
were very different in the Colonial period from 
those which prevail today. The moose's enemies 
were then wild animals and crust-hunting Indians 
who were only a little less wild. He enjoyed no 
protection from the law-makers, but he was not 
required to face modern firearms. How the winter 
death-rate among those of his species two centuries 
ago would compare with the autumn death-rate 
in this era of game laws and high-power rifles 
will always be a matter of speculation. 

Champlain on his map of New France, drawn in 
1632, notes '' Chasse des Eslans'' in three places on 
the Gaspe Peninsula, but no doubt moose were 
equally numerous through a vast area south and 
west of that section. 

Gabriel Sagard-Theodat, who visited the vari- 
ous Indian missions in Canada a few years 
after Champlain's time, writes: ^^ Les eslans ou 
orignats . . . sont frequents iff en grand nombre 
au pays des Montagnais, iff fort rare a celuy des 

i* Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1721, pp. 165 et 
seq. 



26 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Huronsy^^ This may be freely translated by 
saying that moose were found in great numbers 
in the country north of the lower St. Lawrence 
River, but were very rare in the district between 
Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario. 

In the latter half of the seventeenth century 
Peter Esprit Radisson, a French trader who 
wfote an account of his travels in English, made 
extended journeys to Hudson Bay, and to the 
upper Mississippi Valley. Telling of a season 
spent in the region southwest of Lake Superior 
he wrote: "The spring approaches, w*^^ [is] 
the fitest time to kill the Oriniack. A wildman 
and I w*^ my brother killed that time above 600, 
besides other beasts.'* ^^ Perhaps moose were a 
little less numerous than Radisson's statement 
would imply. Most of us will question, at any 
rate, whether their antlers were as heavy as he 
would have us believe. Writing about 1660 he 
says: "I have scene of their homes that a man 
could not lift them from of the ground. They 
are branchy & flatt in the midle, of w'^^ the wildman 
makes dishes y* can well hold three quarts."^' 

Denys wrote in 1672 that moose, which formerly 

35 Histoire du Canada (Paris, 1636), p. 749. 

3* Voyages (Boston, 1885), p. 220. Collections of the Minnesota 
Historical Society, vol. x., part ii. (St. Paul, 1905), pp. 502-505. 
37 Voyages, p. 156. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 27 

were found in great numbers on the island of Cape 
Breton, had been exterminated by the Indians, 
and that the Indians themselves had then been 
forced to abandon the island for lack of game.^^ 
Prince Edward Island also was destitute of moose, 
though there were some caribou, "which are an- 
other species of moose/' ^^ 

Perhaps the disappearance of this class of game 
from the Acadian Islands was due to the com- 
mercial demands of Europe. Describing the terri- 
tory at the head of the Bay of Fundy Denys wrote: 
**The Sieur d'Aunay in his time [1645-1650] 
traded in moose skins there to the extent of 3000 
skins a year, besides beaver and otter, which was 
the reason why he dispossessed the Sieur de la 
Tour of it."'*° No doubt many of the Cape Breton 
and Prince Edward Island moose skins had gone 
to the European market by way of Sieur d'Aulnay's 
trading post. The Indian killed only to supply 
his simple needs, until the white man came and 
sought skins for export. But the price of peltries 
was paid in the Frenchman's brandy,'*^ and the 
death-rate among the moose soon mounted rapidly. 

3^ Description Geographique et Historique des Cosies de VAmerique 
Septenlrionale. Avec VHisloire naturelle du Pais. Par Monsieur Denys^ 
Couzerneur Lieutenant-General pour le Roy, vol. i., p. 163. 

39 Ubi supra, vol. i., p. 202. '•" Ubi supra, vol. i., p. 50, 

•" Denys, vol. ii., chap, xxvii. 



izS THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Moose and beaver skins were chiefly in demand. 
From the former buff-leather was produced. This 
was a soft, pHable, uncolored leather, originally 
made from the skins of the buffaloes of the Eastern 
Hemisphere. It was used for clothing, and many 
other purposes. 

Charlevoix, who lived in Quebec as a Jesuit 
missionary for four years following 1705, writing 
(March 11, 1721) from St. Francis on the St. 
Lawrence, says that moose had been very numerous 
in that vicinity at the time of the first settlement 
of the colony, but had been heedlessly slaughtered, 
or frightened away, by "those who preceded us 
in this country."''^ And Fr. Sebastien Rasle, in a 
letter to his brother from Narantsouak (now 
Norridgewock, Maine), wrote : " Our savages have 
so destroyed the game of their country that for 
ten years they have no longer either moose [ori- 
gnaux] or deer [chevreuil]. Bears and beavers 
have become very scarce. They seldom have any 
food but Indian corn, beans, and squashes."^^ 
This was written October 12, 1723, less than a 
year before the missionary's tragic death. 

As colonization advanced the moose retreated. 

*' Journal d'un Voyage fait par Ordre du Rot dans VAmerigue Septen- 
trionale, Paris, 1744. 

**]Je5uit Relations, vol. Ixvii., p. 213. 




Michigan's Heraldic Moose 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 29 

In the hunting territory which was easy of access 
the heedless slaughter of which Charlevoix com- 
plained continued through the Colonial period, 
and the larger game animals became a constantly 
diminishing factor in the life of the white settlers. 
As for the Indians of Maine and Canada, it was 
necessary for them to make longer and longer 
journeys in the winter, to find this class of game in 
the profusion to which they had been accustomed. 

The early histories of the northern States remote 
from the seaboard contain few references to the 
moose. The settlers were too busy to engage 
in hunting for its own sake, and game soon became 
an immaterial consideration with them as a source 
of food supply. With the Indians it was different. 
Schoolcraft, writing in Territorial days of the nat- 
ural resources of Michigan, says: "The moose is 
confined to the portions of country northwest 
of Lake Huron, where it is still relied on by the 
Indian tribes as among the means of their preca- 
rious subsistence."'*'^ 

A reminiscence of the time when the moose 
still frequented the northern woods of Michigan, 
is found in the coat-of-arms of that State. This 
coat-of-arms, as blazoned on the Great Seal, has 

** Historical and Scientific Sketches of Michigan (Detroit, 1834), p. 
185. 



30 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

for supporters a conventionalized moose rampant 
on one side and a wapiti rampant on the other/^ 

In Canada conditions were similar. But the 
great wooded wilderness of the north was never 
far away, and moose are, and always will be, a 
more important economic factor in the Dominion 
than in the States farther south. Robert Bell, 
Jr., in an article on the Natural History of the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, published in the Canadian 
Naturalist and Geologist in 1859, said: "For the 
last few years most of the hunters have devoted 
their time to killing the moose simply for the sake 
of their skins, which now command a higher price 
than formerly, and this they do at any season of 
the year which suits their own convenience. We 
were informed that a party of these hunters had 
procured three hundred skins the previous winter, 
and that another party of only three Indians had 
killed during the same season between ninety and 
one hundred on one expedition, as many as six 
sometimes falling a prey to them in one day, yet 
still these noble animals roam in vast numbers 
over the district.*' 

<s The seal was adopted in 1835. A rampant moose and a rampant 

wapiti support also the coat-of-arms of Ontario. The recumbent moose 
on the State seal of Maine, lying at the foot of a pine tree, more accu- 
rately represents the tranquil disposition of the animal during most of 
the year. 



THE MOOSE AND HIS HISTORY 31 

Mr. Bell was writing of the district south of the 
lower St. Lawrence River, including the Gaspe 
Peninsula, and he referred to the winter of 1857- 
58. Since that time legislation in all the political 
divisions of the moose's American range has 
checked the "heedless slaughter" which threatened 
the future of the species, and happily there is 
now no occasion to apprehend extermination of 
the moose in either hemisphere. 



CHAPTER II 

AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 

The changes which have taken place in the 
range of the moose since the first Europeans came 
to this continent are not great. Moose are not 
being exterminated, as some assert. In some 
sections of their territory they are unquestionably 
losing ground, but "they have acquired within 
our present history of them almost or quite as 
much territory as they have lost."' 

The southernmost points in the present American 
range of the moose are southern Nova Scotia and 
southern Idaho and Wyoming. Between these 
extremes the boundary of the range has wavered 
as the activity of hunters and the foresight of 
lawmakers have modified conditions from time 
to time. Moose have been more numerous in 
New Brunswick and Maine in the past twenty 
or twenty-five years than at any time in the previ- 

' Andrew J. Stone, in The Deer Family (New York, 1902), p. 302. 
Mr. Stone is exceptionally well qualified to speak of the moose of Alaska 
and the Canadian Northwest. 

S2 




^US ALCES 




Fold-out 
Placeholder 



This foid-out is being digitized, and will be inserted 

future date. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 33 

ous half-century, thanks to wise legislation. They 
lost their foothold in New Hampshire only thirty 
years ago, five having been killed near the Con- 
necticut Lakes in 1884. Thirteen years earlier 
there were said to be some still remaining in 
northern Vermont.'' 

Before the advent of the white hunter moose are 
believed to have exceeded the deer in numbers 
in the Adirondacks. These woods were a favorite 
hunting ground of the Six Nations, and of the 
Canadian Indians, who prized highly the moose 
meat secured there for winter use. And the 
animals continued fairly plentiful in this portion of 
their range until the beginning of the second half 
of the nineteenth century. 

The last refuge of the moose in the Adirondacks 
was in the country between Raquette Lake and 
Mud Lake. Their disappearance was partly due 
to sudden migration, about 1854 or 1855, dogs 
employed to chase deer driving the moose Into 
parts unknown. But unrestrained slaughter of 
bulls, cows, and calves completed the extinction 
of the species In the great "North Woods." 

Governor Horatio Seymour shot a bull In 1859, 
near Jock's Lake, Herkimer County, N. Y., and 

'"The Vanishing Moose," by Madison Grant, Century Magazine, 
Jaxiuary, 1894. 
3 



34 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

it used to be said that this was the last moose 
killed in the State. But a number appear to have 
been shot later. In i860 "Alva Dunning killed 
several on West Canada Creek." In August, 
1 861, however, a cow was killed at Raquette Lake 
which was "the last known native of its race in 
New York State." A party of four men from 
Philadelphia, including a lawyer and a physician, 
with two guides, were on a fishing trip, in two boats, 
when they encountered the moose. One of the 
sportsmen fired a charge of buckshot into her 
shoulder at fifty yards' distance; another fired a 
charge of No. 6 shot; the guides each added a 
rifle ball — and the curtain was rung down on the 
inglorious tragedy of extermination.^ 

Vain attempts have since been made to re- 
stock the Adirondacks with moose. In 1902 seven 
or eight specimens were obtained, chiefly from 
Canada, and released. The following year four 
or five more were secured. Several were "mis- 
taken for deer" and shot; the others presumably 
found their way northward to Canada again. The 
experiment cost the State about ^3000, and ended 
in failure. 

Moose occasionally stray beyond their ordinary 

J Madison Grant, uhi supra. The Mammals of the Adirondack 
Region, by Clinton Hart Merriam, M.D. (N. Y., 1884), pp. 141-143. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 35 

range. Thus they were reported in the early 
Colonial days in the Catskills of New York, in 
the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, and in the 
northeastern portion of the same State. Judge 
Dudley stated in 1721 that a cow moose was killed 
"a few years since" within two miles of Boston."* 
But these must all be considered as merely visitors, 
and not settled residents. Since the advent of 
white men the moose's recognized range has 
never reached so far south on the eastern side 
of the continent as the northern boundary of 
Massachusetts. 

Hon. William C. Whitney secured three pairs of 
moose for his October Mountain preserve in Lee, 
Berkshire County, Mass., about 1900. One pair 
was taken to a sportsmen's show in New York: 
of these one died and the survivor was returned to 
his former home in Manitoba. The moose re- 
maining in the preserve bred well, the increase 
aggregating about twenty head. The enclosure 
of 1200 acres is surrounded by nearly ten miles of 
wire fence. Four or five years ago the fence was 
maliciously cut and seven or eight moose escaped. 
Three of these are known to have been killed 
illegally. A dozen moose from this source are 
believed to be at large now in the Berkshire Hills. 

* See p. 24. 



36 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The number in the preserve at present is only four, 
but they share the enclosure with two bull elk 
and several blacktail deer. It is believed the 
experiment would have been more successful if 
the moose had been given exclusive possession of a 
larger preserve.^ A similar experiment with moose 
was undertaken about the same time by Austin 
Corbin at the Blue Mountain preserve in Sullivan 
County, N. H., but it was given up after a few 
years. 

Moose have enjoyed legal protection in Michigan 
since 1889. A few are found on Isle Royale, near 
the northern shore of Lake Superior, and in the 
northern peninsula of the State a very few scattered 
specimens are occasionally reported. These are 
believed to be wanderers which have crossed from 
Canadian territory on the ice. It is sometimes 
reported also that moose have been seen in the 
extreme northern part of Wisconsin, but such 
reports in recent years have not been substantiated. 
Animals of this species have not been numerous 
in either Michigan or Wisconsin within the memory 
of any now living. 

In the tamarack swamps of northern Minnesota 



"s For information regarding the moose of the October Mountain 
preserve the author is indebted to WilHam W. Sargood of Lee, Deputy 
Fish and Game Commissioner of Massachusetts. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 37 

moose are found in considerable numbers. Re- 
ferring to the Superior National Forest and Game 
Preserve, William T. Hornaday says: "In north- 
ern Minnesota we now possess a great national 
moose preserve of 909,743 acres [1420 square 
miles]. In 1908 Mr. FuUerton, after a personal 
inspection in which he saw 189 moose in nine 
days, estimated the total moose population of the 
present day at 10,000 head. This is a moose 
preserve worth while."^ 

Westward, from Minnesota to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, the plains afford little suitable cover, and 
moose are not found. The mountains of western 
Montana and eastern Idaho, and the adjacent 
Wyoming region, however, harbor some moose, but 
the heads are inferior, and hunting is not generally 
permitted. Glacier National Park, Montana, com- 
prises 1400 square miles. Three experienced 
guides, at the request of Mr. Hornaday, estimated 
the amount of big game in the park in 1909, and 
agreed that the number of moose was about 2500.' 



* Our Vanishing Wild Life (N. Y., 1913), p. 175. Mr. FuUerton's 
estimate of 10,000 moose no doubt referred to the number in the entire 
State. Carlos Avery, executive agent of the Minnesota Board of Fish 
and Game Commissioners, writing in the Amateur Sportsman for 
January, 1910, tells of a visit with Hon. George Shiras, 3d, to the 
western section of the Superior preserve in July, 1909. In fourteen 
days the party saw fifty moose. 

' Our Vanishing Wild Life, p. 340. 



38 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

In 1897 the Government had fifty moose under 
its protection in the Yellowstone Park. In 1912 
these had increased to 550, according to official 
reports. Hon. George Shiras, 3d, during a trip 
in the Yellowstone Park in September and October, 
19 10, counted four hundred moose, seeing twenty- 
one feeding at one time In the south arm of Yellow- 
stone Lake. "I think It can be safely said," he 
wrote, " that there are 1500 moose living through- 
out the year in the valley of the upper Yellow- 
stone, an area two to five miles wide and twenty 
Iong."« 

The moose's possible range Is bounded on the 
north, as It is on the mountain-sides, only by the 
timber line. He Is a creature of the forests — a 
"wood-eater," as the Indians called him — can 
subsist on the food aff^orded by a wide variety of 
trees, and loves the cold and thrives on it. The 
Kenal Peninsula in Alaska, famous for fine antlers, 
is in the latitude of southern Greenland. 

Moose have never been found in the country 
between Hudson Bay and the Labrador coast, 
nor In Newfoundland.^ But, from southwestern 

* National Geographic Magazine, July, 1913. 

9 Several Canadian moose were released in Newfoundland a dozen 
years ago, with a view to stocking the island. For several years they 
were lost to sight, and were supposed to have perished, but it has lately 
been reported that cows and calves have been seen, indicating possible 
success of the experiment. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 39 

Quebec, west and northwest to Bering Sea, avoid- 
ing the plains of southern Saskatchewan and 
Alberta, stretches an unbroken range, harboring 
great numbers of moose, numbers which can go on 
increasing since fate has decreed that Indians shall 
decrease. The territory gained by the moose in 
recent years has been chiefly in the Canadian 
Northwest, and in Alaska. Northern British 
Columbia, and the region lying farther north, as 
far as the delta of the Mackenzie, within the 
Arctic Circle, is all included in the moose's great 
domain. ^° 

The boundaries of this range, especially in the 
north, would. In a long series of years, show some 
minor changes, caused chiefly no doubt by fluctua- 
tion in the food supply. Insufficient forage, due to 
seasons of drouth, forest fires, and other causes, 
may induce a more or less general migration, 
but under favorable conditions the abandoned 
territory would be again occupied. Dr. Robert 
Bell, chief of the Canadian Geological Survey, in a 



" An excellent paper discussing the range of the moose is given by 
Madison Grant, secretary of the New York Zoological Society, in the 
Seventh Report of the N. Y. State Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, 
1901. The resources of Alaska with respect to moose and other game 
are described in the Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 
1907, pages 469-482, and by the same writer in the National Geographic 
Magazine for July, 1909. See also article by Geo.ge Shiras, 3d, in 
National Geographic Magazine, May, 1912. 



40 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

paper read before the Geological Society of America, 
December 29, 1897, discussing the migrations of 
northern mammals, says: "The moose or Ameri- 
can elk {Alces americanus) migrates slowly from 
one large area to another through periods extending 
over many years. For example, in the Gaspe 
Peninsula the last interval between its leaving 
and again returning to the same district was up- 
ward of half a century, and in the region between 
the upper Great Lakes and James Bay the period 
between his last withdrawal and reappearance has 
been still longer."" 

Estimatesof the number of moose occupying this 
vast area, extending from ocean to ocean, must of 
course be largely speculative. " The entire [Ameri- 
can] range of the moose is about 3,500,000 square 
miles," writes Ernest Thompson Seton. "... At 
a very rough estimate, we may put the number on 
the whole range at a round million of moose. "'^ 
Mr. Seton in making his estimate is quite safe 
from effective contradiction. If to these figures 
are added the number of elk credited to Siberia 
and northern Europe,'^ the grand total — more than 
3,000,000 — would indicate that the race of Alces 
is not likely soon to perish from the earth. 

" Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, vol. ix., p. 376. 
^' Life Histories of Northern Animals (N. Y., 1909), vol. i., p. 155. 
'3 See pp. 291-292. 




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AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 41 

Game laws in the various portions of the moose's 
range are subject to frequent amendment. A 
summary of these laws in the several States and 
British Provinces, with regard to all classes of 
game, giving the provisions relating to hunting 
seasons, hunting licenses, bag limits, etc., is 
published annually by the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, being compiled by the 
Bureau of Biological Survey. Copies of the pam- 
phlet may be obtained from the Superintendent of 
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washing- 
ton, the price being five cents each. 

Facts obtained from official sources relating to 
the number of moose killed annually in the various 
portions of the moose's range, are given below. 
These returns are in all cases incomplete, many 
moose which are killed being consumed in lumber 
camps or in the smaller settlements, and no return 
being made to the game officials. In some cases 
the number killed in this way, and unreported, is 
very considerable. 

Alaska. — Governor Strong of Alaska, in his an- 
nual report on the administration of the Alaska 
game law, dated November i, 1915, says: 

"The principal habitat of the moose In central 
Alaska is found on the Kenai Peninsula, but moose 



42 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

are also present in considerable numbers in the 
regions drained by the Yukon and Tanana Rivers 
and their tributaries. In the latter sections 
moose are probably decreasing in number, while the 
moose of the Kenai Peninsula are possibly slowly 
increasing, this condition being due to the possi- 
bility of stricter enforcement of the game law." 

Quoting a report on game conditions on the 
Kenai Peninsula prepared by Special Game Warden 
L. F. Shaw, the Governor says : 

"* According to a native legend, a century ago 
there was not a moose to be found on the Kenai 
Peninsula. Then they appeared in numbers, 
coming from the Iliamna country [west of the 
peninsula], and gradually increasing from year 
to year until they were exceedingly numerous. 
Wolves, their most persistent natural enemy, and 
severe winters were about the chief factors in 
their destruction, as the peninsula was but sparsely 
settled. 

"'Then came the stampede for gold In the 
late nineties to the Cook Inlet country. The 
stampeders settled on the western side of the 
peninsula, founding the towns of Hope and Sun- 
rise. At one time there were over looo people in 
the two settlements. The people depended for 
a meat supply almost wholly on the moose and 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 43 

mountain sheep, and there was a wanton and 
wasteful kiUing of these valuable food animals. 
Indeed, some of the old-timers made it their 
boast that they killed a moose merely for what they 
considered the choice part — the tongue — leaving 
the carcass to go to waste. . . . 

"'Now conditions are much improved. The 
game law, as applied to moose and mountain 
sheep, gives them immunity from needless slaughter, 
with the result that a gradual increase in their 
numbers is manifest. . . . After diligent inquiry, 
and consultation with Game Wardens Baughman 
and Ericson, on duty on the Kenai Peninsula, I 
place the number of moose and mountain sheep 
on the peninsula as follows: Moose, 5000; moun- 
tain sheep, 2000.' " 

The area of the peninsula is about 9000 square 
miles. 

The open season for moose in Alaska, south of 
62°, including the Kenai Peninsula, but excluding a 
section east and south of the Lynn Canal, is from 
August 20 to December 31. North of 62° the 
open season is from August i to December 10. 

In the fiscal year ended June 30, 19 15, twenty- 
one citizens of the United States and one resident 
of a foreign country took out hunting licenses in 
Alaska. Residents of the Territory are not re- 



44 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

quired to obtain licenses, and no returns are made 
to show the number of moose killed. The bag 
limit is two bull moose. Citizens of the United 
States are required to pay a hunting license fee of 
^50, which covers all classes of game. The fee 
for non-resident aliens is ^100. In addition a 
special fee of ^150 must be paid on each moose 
trophy, taken south of latitude 62°, which is 
shipped from the Territory. Eleven such shipping 
licenses were issued in the year in question. The 
Alaska game law is subject to change by Congress. 
"Regulations," providing for special local re- 
strictions, are frequently issued by the Department 
of Agriculture. Communications on the subject 
of hunting in Alaska should be addressed to the 
Governor of the Territory at Juneau. 

Alberta, — The last annual report of the Provin- 
cial Department of Agriculture states that the 
number of moose taken in the Province under big- 
game licenses increased from 425 in 1912 and 865 in 
1913, to 1335 in 1914. The increase has been rapid 
for a number of years, only 86 moose being reported 
taken in 1909. The figures given do not include 
moose taken in unorganized districts, north of the 
55th parallel. The number of hunting licenses is- 
sued to non-residents was 32 in 1913, and 25 in 1914. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 45 

British Columbia. — The Provincial Game War- 
den writes that no data are available showing the 
number of moose killed in any year. The best 
hunting is found in the Cassiar district, in the 
northern part of the Province, but it is difficult of 
access, and the number of white hunters is small. 

Maine. — ^The legislature of Maine in 191 5 
passed an act protecting all moose until November 
I, 1919. No record has been kept by the Fish 
and Game Commissioners of the number of moose 
killed each year, but the reports of shipments by 
the railroads have indicated a marked decrease 
in the kill since 191 2. More than half of the entire 
number of Maine moose which have been trans- 
ported by railroad have been shipped from points 
on the Bangor and Aroostook line, and on this road 
the number dropped from 193 and 188 in 1910 and 
191 1 respectively, to 58 in 1913 and 45 in 1914. 
This falling-off is partially explainable perhaps 
by the decreased number of non-resident hunters, 
due to an increase in the license fee in 19 13 from 
^15 to ^25. The number of big-game licenses 
issued to non-residents in Maine in 1913 was 1345, 
but this included many taken by sportsmen who 
hunted only deer, before the opening of the season 
for hunting moose. 



46 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The increase in the number of moose in Maine in 
the last two decades of the last century, brought 
about by wise legislation and law enforce- 
ment, would indicate that there should be no 
difficulty in restoring the hunting conditions 
which prevailed in the first decade of the present 
century. 

Manitoba. — In the report of the Chief Game 
Guardian for 191 5 it is stated that moose are 
"plentiful in the north and northwestern portion 
of the Province; also the east and southeastern 
portion." In 1914 the number of moose killed 
in the Province by licensed resident hunters was 
2447. Of these moose twelve were females. The 
season's kill of elk (wapiti) by residents was 1279, 
of "jumping deer" yG^,, and of caribou 27. The 
number of non-resident big-game hunters is not 
large, only 53 such licenses having been issued in 
1914. Of the non-residents 46 were British sub- 
jects. There has been a marked increase in the 
number of moose taken in Manitoba for several 
years past, albeit increasing attention has been 
paid to the enforcement of the game laws. Com- 
paratively few Virginia deer ("jumping deer") 
are killed, since the bag limit is one big-game 
animal — whether moose, wapiti, Virginia deer, or 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 47 

caribou — and sportsmen naturally seek animals 
of the larger species. 

Measures have been taken by the Provincial 
Government to conserve the game supply by the 
establishment of four large preserves, aggregat- 
ing more than 700 square miles, where hunt- 
ing, trapping, and carrying firearms are strictly 
prohibited. 

Minnesota. — ^The number of moose killed annu- 
ally in Minnesota is not large. The Game and 
Fish Commissioners give the number killed in 19 14 
as 158, which is an increase over any of the three 
years preceding. Non-residents are allowed to 
hunt moose on payment of a license fee of twenty- 
five dollars, but only the head and hide may be 
taken from the State. 

Nezv Brunswick. — ^The Crown Land Department 
of New Brunswick in its annual reports gives 
figures showing the estimates by game wardens 
of the number of moose killed in their respective 
districts. These tables show 2052 moose killed 
in 1911, 1854 in 1912, 1499 in 1913, 1737 in 1914. 
The falling off in 1912 and 1913 is attributed in the 
reports to unfavorable weather conditions. The 
number of licenses for hunting big game issued to 



48 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

non-residents in 1913 was 490. Most of these 
were issued to residents of the United States. 
In the report for 1914 it is stated that the number 
of moose and caribou in the Province is increasing. 

Nova Scotia. — ^The number of moose killed in 
Nova Scotia has been steadily increasing since the 
law protecting females became operative in 1909. 
The number reported killed in 1914 was 1091. 
Fifty-five hunting licenses were issued to non- 
residents in 19 14, a falling-off of about fifty per 
cent, since 1913, due chiefly to the war in Europe. 

An excellent law in Nova Scotia provides that 
every non-resident license holder, and every un- 
licensed resident, who kills a moose shall within 
ten days thereafter report the fact to the Chief 
Game Commissioner by registered post, telling the 
time and place of killing. By this means informa- 
tion is gathered which is of value when measures 
for the protection of game are under consideration. 

Ontario. — Although residents and non-residents 
alike are required to obtain licenses to hunt moose 
in Ontario, no returns of moose killed are made, 
and the Department of Game and Fisheries is 
unable to give any figures bearing on the subject. 
In 1914 the Department received on account of 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 49 

"non-resident hunting licenses" ^7400. This in- 
cluded licenses for all classes of game at ^50 each, 
and licenses to kill small game at ^25 each. In the 
same year ^6250 was received on account of " resi- 
dent moose licenses, " the fee for which is ^5. The 
annual report of the Department issued in 19 15 states 
that moose are more plentiful than in years past. 

Quebec. — ^No returns are made by hunters in the 
Province of Quebec from which the number of 
moose killed can be ascertained. An official of the 
Department of Colonization, Mines, and Fisheries 
writes that "from 400 to 500 moose would be a low 
estimate of the number killed annually in our 
Province." More than 250 non-resident licenses 
to hunt big game are issued every year. 

Saskatchewan. — Prior to 19 13 no statistics were 
gathered by the Provincial authorities regarding 
the big-game animals killed. In that year the 
returns showed 470 moose killed — but it is sup- 
posed that as many more were unlawfully killed, 
by Indians and settlers, and not reported. The 
weather conditions were unfavorable in 1913. In 
1914, with better tracking weather, and doubtless 
with more attention paid to the regulation re- 
quiring sportsmen to make return of game killed 



50 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

to the Chief Game Guardian, the number of moose 
reported killed was 835. Only 19 big-game licenses 
were issued to non-residents in 1913. Sixteen 
were issued in 1912. 

The Game Act of Saskatchewan provides that 
"Every holder of a big-game license shall wear 
while hunting a complete outer suit of some white 
material, such suit to include white cap or tuque." 
In Manitoba a white cap and white coat or sweater 
are required. The report of the Chief Game 
Guardian of Saskatchewan for 1913 quotes the 
district guardians and sportsmen generally as 
warmly approving the white suit regulation. 
There were twelve fatal and ten serious hunting 
accidents in the Province In 1913, most of which 
were due to careless use of firearms. The fact is 
significant that none of these were chargeable to 
big-game hunters. 

Wyoming. — Moose have been increasing rapidly 
in numbers for some time In northwestern Wyo- 
ming. After twelve years of protection the Legis- 
lature of the State by an act approved February 25, 
191 5, provided that "during the open season of 
191 5-16 there may be killed under special license, 
issued under the State Game Warden, fifty fully 
matured bull moose.'' The fee for this special 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 51 

license is one hundred dollars. "Parties holding 
such license must be accompanied by a deputy 
warden appointed by the State Game Warden, 
who shall receive for such work the sum of four 
dollars per day; the above to be paid by the holder 
of said moose license." 

The season for hunting moose In Wyoming, as 
well as for elk (wapiti) and mountain sheep, is from 
September i to November 15. The State Game 
Warden writes, under date of December 17, 1915, 
that nineteen special moose licenses were issued 
in 1915, leaving thirty-one available for the season 
of 1916. Sixteen moose were killed by license- 
holders in 1915. Officials of the State Game 
Department estimate that there are from 1200 
to 1500 moose in the mountainous district com- 
prising Jackson Hole, the south fork of Snake 
River, Yellowstone River, and Thoroughfare Creek 
and their tributaries. 

One of the sixteen successful Wyoming hunters, 
R. W. Everett, tells in Recreation for January, 
1916, the story of his trip into the Jackson Hole 
country. In addition to the deputy warden, he 
was accompanied by a guide, a cook, and a pack- 
train of thirteen horses. He secured a bull moose 
with antlers spreading forty-two inches, besides 
two wapiti. 



52 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Yukon Territory. — The Territorial Secretary, in a 
letter dated November 23, 1915, estimates the 
number of moose killed yearly in Yukon, by 
whites and Indians, at about 1500. He states that 
moose furnish the chief meat supply for prospect- 
ors, miners, and Indians in that part of the world. 
The population of the Territory is only about 
8500, or one inhabitant to each twenty-four square 
miles. 

Certain features of the game laws are summarized 
below. A few unimportant local restrictions are 
omitted. In all portions of the moose range in 
America, females, and males under one year of 
age, are protected at all times. 

Non-Resident 
Open Season Bag Limit License Fee 

,, , j Aug. i-Dec. 10 (i) . „ ( f so, citizen of U. S, 

Alaska -J , „ , . 2 bull moose -i , , . 

' Aug. 20-Dec. 31 (2) ( lioo, alien 

Alberta Nov. i-Dec. 15 i bull moose J2S 

Brit. Columbia.. Sept. I-Dec. 15 (3) 2 bull moose fioo 

Manitoba Dec. i-Dec. 15 i bull moose i- -n-^-. i,- ^ 

( $15, British subject 

Minnesota Nov. 10-Nov. 30 i bull moose $25 

New Brunswick. Sept. is-Nov. 30 i bull moose (6).. . $S0 

Nova Scotia .... Sept. i6-Nov. 30 i bull moose $30 

Ontario Oct. 16-Nov. 15 i bull moose ?S0 

Quebec Sept. i-Dec. 31 (4) i bull moose f2S 

Saskatchewan.. .Nov. is-Nov. 30 (5) 2 bull moose $50 

Yukon Sept. i-Feb. 28-29 2 bull moose $100 



(1) North of lat. 62°. 

(2) South of lat. 62°. 

(3) In Cariboo, Atlin, Skeena, and Columbia districts only. 

(4) Season in Labelle, Ottawa, Pontiac, and Temiscaming counties Oct. i-Dec. i. 
(s) No open season south of line between Townships 34 and 35. 

(6) Males under three years of age, and with horns having less than three 

prongs four inches in length, are protected at all times. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 53 

In the geographic nomenclature of America the 
moose has left many evidences of his presence. The 
list of United States post-offices, however, includes 
only five inwhich the moose's name appears— Moose- 
head and Moose River, Maine ; Mooseheart, Illinois, 
and Moose Lake and Moose Park, Minnesota. 

In village names the moose appears frequently 
in various gazetteers and indexed maps. Thus 
Moose and Moose Island are villages in Minnesota, 
Moose Creek in Montana, Moose River in New 
York, and Moose Meadow in Connecticut. Moose 
River plantation is an unorganized township in 
Maine. Moose Lake is a railway station in 
Alaska under the shadow of the lofty volcanic 
peak of Mount Wrangell, and Moose Pass is a 
station on the Alaska Northern Railroad on the 
Kenai Peninsula. 

Moose Factory is a trading post of the Hudson's 
Bay Company on James Bay, at the mouth of 
Moose River, Ontario. This was the ancient 
home of the Monsoni ("moose people"), an 
Algonquin tribe closely related to the Crees and 
Chippewas. They are also called the Moose and 
Moose River Indians. Their totem was the moose. 
Moosonee or Mosonee is the district on Hudson Bay 
from Moose River northwest to Nelson River.''* 

^^ Handbook of American Indians (Smithsonian Institution, 1910). 



54 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Moose Brook, two Moose Rivers and Mooseland 
are villages in Nova Scotia, and Moose Park is in 
Quebec. Moose Creek and L'Orignal are villages 
in eastern Ontario, and Moosehorn is found in 
Manitoba. Moosejaw is a town in the great 
Moosejaw district of Saskatchewan. It is situated 
on Moosejaw Creek, so named because it is ''where 
white man mended cart with jawbone of moose." 
Moosomin is a railroad station in Saskatchewan, 
whence stages run to the Moose Mountain country. 
Moosehide is an old Indian village on the Yukon, 
near the mouth of Klondike River. 

Moosilauke Mountain is a picturesque landmark 
of northern New Hampshire. Two Moose Moun- 
tains and Moosehead Mountain are found in New 
York. There is a Moose Mountain also in New 
Hampshire, and Moosehorn Mountain in Vermont. 
New Brunswick has a Moose Mountain, while the 
Moose Hills and the Moose Woods are geographic 
features of Saskatchewan. Another Moose Moun- 
tain, 7960 feet high, is found in the edge of the 
Rocky Mountain range in southern Alberta. 

Moosehead and Mooselucmaguntic'^ Lakes are 

'5 In Douglas-Li thgow's DictioJiary of American-Indian Place and 
Proper Names in New England (Salcm, 1909), Mooselucmaguntic is 
defined as meaning "where the hunters watch the moose by night." 
Dr. Douglas-Lithgow gives meanings not associated with the moose to 
Moosilauke, and to one or two other names of Indian origin in which 
the syllable "Moos" is found. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 55 

in Maine, and Moose Lake is in Minnesota. Two 
Moose Lakes are found in Alberta, and there are 
also lakes of this name in Nova Scotia, Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Yukon. 
Two Moose Lakes and Moosewater Lake are in 
Ontario. Moose Rivers appear on the maps of 
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, 
and Wisconsin, and twice in Minnesota. There 
are Moose Rivers also in Nova Scotia, Ontario, 
Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and 
the Canadian Northwest Territories. Mooseleuk 
Stream is a tributary of the Aroostook, in Maine. 
Government charts of the Maine coast show 
Moose Island, on which is situated the town of 
Eastport, close to the Canadian boundary, while 
Moose Cove is a dozen miles away. Farther west 
is Moose Peak light, guarding the western approach 
to Machias Bay, and near at hand are Moosabec 
Reach, Moose Neck, and a second Moose Island. 
Still farther west, close to the Mount Desert 
shore, a third Moose Island claims a place on the 
chart, opposite the mouth of Moosehorn Brook. 
There are Moose Islands too in Moosehead Lake 
and in Lake Winnipeg. Moosecajik, meaning " the 
moose's rump," was the ancient Indian name of 
Cape Rosier, in Penobscot Bay. Moose Deer 
Point is in Georgian Bay, Ontario. 



56 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

In a descending scale of Importance other hills, 
ponds, and streams, named for the moose which 
frequented them, are scattered in the vast North 
Country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.'^ They 
are generally ignored by cartographers, but to 
the man who, rifle in hand, stalks the giant deer, 
they are often of more interest than the Himalayas 
and Congos of distant continents. 

Division into Species. — ^The old-school nat- 
uralist was spared the puzzling questions incident 
to subdivision into species. A moose was a moose 
— and he would busy himself with building a fire 
to broil a slice of steak instead of tabulating 
dimensions with the aid of calipers while his 
stomach listened in vain for the dinner call. But 
with the discovery in America of the animal which 
some scientific men have called ^Ices americanus, 
arose the question whether he was of a different 
species from Alces palmatus or A Ices mac Mis. In 
other words, is the American moose of a different 
species from the European elk.? 

One writer says that the moose of eastern 
America is " distinguished chiefly from its European 



'* Dr. Stuck'states that in his travels in Alaska, in which he covered 
''ten thousand miles with a dog sled," he encountered thirteen streams 
which were known as Moose Creek. 




Mooseleuk Mountain, Maine, from Mimsungan Lake 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 57 

congener by the skull being narrowed across the 
maxillaries, also by its greater size and darker 
color." But dififerences of size and color are often 
quite as manifest when comparing moose of New 
Brunswick and Nova Scotia. As for the maxil- 
laries, if it is necessary to measure the breadth of 
jaw of two living wild moose for purpose of specific 
classification, few of us are fleet enough of foot, 
and brave enough, to obtain the necessary data. 
It would be interesting to know into how many 
species the human race would be divided 
if similar subdivision were attempted. John 
Jones, who is tall and dark-haired, with nar- 
row jaw, would be likely to find himself in a 
different species from his brother Joseph, who, 
responding to some atavistic tendency, happens 
to be short and a blond, with the square jaw of 
an athlete. 

Judge Caton, author of The Antelope and Deer 
of America, referring to the American moose and 
the elk of Scandinavia, wrote : " If one from either 
side of the Atlantic were transferred to the other, 
no one would suspect that he was an emigrant."'^ 
Richard Lydekker, a high English authority, 
quotes with approval from Judge Caton, and adds: 
**It seems impossible to regard the Old World 

'7 A Summer in Norway, p. 327. 



58 THE AMERICAN MOOSE, 

and New World elks [moose] as even representing 
distinct sub-species."^^ 

A Russian writer on Cervus alces, or Alces 
machlisy Baron von Kapherr, author of Das Elch- 
wildy in an article in Die Jagd (Berlin), March 3, 
1907, ridicules the efforts of zoologists to subdivide 
the animal kingdom, and especially the CervidcSy 
into a multiplicity of species. In a spirit of satire 
he differentiates between his black dachshund 
and his yellow dachshund, the former being in a 
species which he calls Canis domesticus subter- 
ramus ater, and the latter being Canis domesticus 
taxus aureus. Incidentally he classifies zoologists 
in a way not altogether complimentary to the 
"species" which delights in hair-splitting distinc- 
tions. In his judgment moose, whether found 
in Europe, Asia, or America, are no more to be 
separated into distinct species than are his two 
dachshunds.''^ 

There are differences between the moose (or 
elk) in one territory and another by reason of 
different climatic or other conditions, especially 
in respect to food, or by reason of inbreeding or 
deterioration due to persistent hunting of the 



'8 The Deer of All Lands (London, 1898), p. 54. 
''Martenson reaches the same conclusion. — Der Elch (Riga, 1903), 
P-5. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 59 

superior specimens. Similar differences, especially 
in tlie line of deterioration, are sometimes observed 
in the same territory after a lapse of years. These 
differences are often much more marked than the 
natural differences which are cited as the basis of 
subdivision into species. 

Most recent writers state that there are two 
species of moose in America — Alces americanus 
and Alces gigas — but all fail to define the differ- 
ence between the two species in a way which would 
enable anyone to distinguish between two speci- 
mens if living representatives of both species 
were met in the same enclosure. Specific differ- 
ences will remain unimportant, in the judgment of 
most of us, so long as a post-mortem examination 
by an expert is needed to determine the correct 
classification of an individual animal.^° 

Gerrlt S. Miller, Jr., of the Biological Survey 
at Washington, was the first to define the char- 
acteristics of Alces gigas, found in Alaska, as 
distinguished from Alces americanus, which In- 
habits the central and eastern portions of the 
continent. In a paper published In the Proceed- 
ings of the Biological Society of Washington, May 

•o "Every species should be distinguishable by external characters; 
and any animal which requires to be killed and dissected before it can 
be named, is of no practical value as an independent form." — Hornaday, 
American Natural History (N. Y., 1914), vol. i., p. xxiv. 



60 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

29, 1899, he defines the general characteristics 
of Alces gigas as follows: ''A larger, more richly 
colored animal than the eastern moose; skull with 
occipital portion narrower, palate broader, and 
mandible much heavier than in Alces americanus." 

But Hornaday denies to the Alaska moose 
stature superior to the moose of New Brunswick, 
and as for the other dimensions, the Alaska moose 
is quite as disinclined to submit his skull for 
measurement as the moose in other ranges.^^ 
Mr. Miller based his conclusions on the study of 
six specimens, four of which were males, secured 
in the summer of 1898 on the Kenai Peninsula 
by Dall De Weese for the United States National 
Museum. Whether the same specific differences 
would be found if a much larger number of speci- 
mens from Alaska were compared with an equal 
number from the Atlantic coast may be a matter of 
doubt. 

It is believed that the antlers of the Alaska 
moose are of large size because of peculiar condi- 



" A new'sub-species of moose from Wyoming is described in a leaflet 
of the Biological Society of Washington, published April 25, 1914. It is 
called Alces americanus shirasi, or Shiras moose, in honor of Hon. 
George Shiras, 3d, who explored the southeastern section of the Yellow- 
Stone National Park in the summers of 1908, 1909, and 1910, and dis- 
covered great numbers of moose. The new sub-species is distinguished 
from the moose of Maine and eastern Canada by lighter coloration and 
smaller hoofs, but cranial differences are not appreciable. 



AMERICAN RANGE OF THE MOOSE 6i 

tions with respect to feed, in the season when the 
horns are growing,^^ and it is probable that a New 
Brunswick moose transferred to Alaska, or an 
Alaska moose carried to New Brunswick, would, 
within a year or two after his migration, be in- 
distinguishable from the other moose about him. 

Attention has been called by Madison Grant to a 
secondary palmation frequently noticeable in the 
antlers of Alaska moose. The brow prongs of 
fully developed antlers are usually connected by a 
web at right angles to the main palmation, while in 
the case of eastern moose such palmation between 
the brow prongs is much less noticeable.^^ But 
this peculiarity in the antlers is not cited to sup- 
port the claim that the Alaska moose is of a distinct 
species; furthermore, eastern moose not infre- 
quently have an unmistakable secondary palmation 
of the same sort. 

Zoologists, in their disagreement on the general 
subject of subdivision into species, are arrayed in 
two camps. The advocate of a multiplicity of 
species contemptuously refers to the "lumper" 
who would include several of these minor sub- 

" "Apparently the Alaskan moose find in summer an abundant 
supply of some food which is particularly rich in horn-producing prop- 
erties, and the enormous and freaky antlers are the result." — Hornaday, 
American Natural History (N. Y., 1914), vol. ii., p. 119. 

^3 Seventh Report N. Y. State Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, 1901, 
p. 232. 



62 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

divisions in one well-defined species; and the 
advocate of a less number of species, each being 
marked by unmistakable characteristics, sneers 
at the "splitter," who would multiply species by 
all sorts of trivial distinctions. In this situation 
the layman is pretty sure to be found on the side 
of the "lumper." 

If a single scientific name were to be adopted 
for the elk of Europe and Asia and the moose of 
America, the " Cervus alces'^ of Linnaeus should 
be given the preference. It was the term used by 
Buffon and Cuvier, both of whom regarded the 
moose and elk as identical in species. It ante- 
dates most of the other names used by scientific 
writers, and describes the place of the moose in the 
animal kingdom better than any other name which 
has been suggested. 



CHAPTER III 

TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 

Civilized man, seeking a foothold in the wilder- 
ness, begins by destroying the forests. He must 
have room for his cornfields, and for his village. 
Thus the moose, dependent on the forest for 
subsistence, retreats before the advancing axmen, 
with their guns and dogs — leaving civilized man to 
study the moose through the medium of a speci- 
men stuffed by some upholsterer, perhaps, and 
displayed In a museum. As a result a large 
measure of mystery has always surrounded the 
moose, and In popular estimation he has possessed 
a medley of contradictory attributes. 

It Is little more than a century since zoology 
was elevated to the rank of a science. And a 
century Is too little time In which to correct all 
the errors which, through careless observation, 
had crept Into the books In which the moose and 
his habits were described. Few even now possess 
the ability, and at the same time the opportunity, 

63 



64 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

to make the exact observations which are needed 
as a basis for a complete description and Hfe-history 
of an animal whose home is generally so remote 
from civilization. 

Among many misstatements regarding the moose 
some of the most frequent concern his size. Many 
writers since Dr. Josselyn and Judge Dudley^ have 
exaggerated, and not always, it is to be presumed, 
with intent to mislead their readers. A writer 
in The Big Game of North America, published in 
1890, tells of a monster Rocky Mountain moose. 
"As he lay on his brisket his withers were higher 
than any horse in the outfit. . . . He was fifteen 
hands high without his legs under him."^ 

The distance, in a straight line, from the top 
of the shoulders to the brisket, or lower line of 
the breast, is commonly called the "depth of 
body." Andrew J. Stone, who is well-acquainted 
with the moose of Alaska, gives minute dimensions 
of three adult bulls taken on the Kenai Peninsula. 
The average depth of body of these moose is 33 
inches, and the average height at the shoulders 
77 inches.^ If the Rocky Mountain bull "was 
fifteen hands high without his legs under him," 

' See pp. 22, 24. » Page 24. 

3 The Deer Family, p. 295. 




A S5-Inch New Bnmswick Head 

Shot by Carl Rungius 



S|fg.3 







An Unrecorded Tragedy 
Skeleton of Moose Found in the New Brunswick Woods 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 65 

his depth of body was sixty inches. And if his 
legs were as long in proportion as those of the 
moose on the Kenai Peninsula, his height at the 
shoulders was 11 feet and 8 inches. It is not 
worth while to dispute these dimensions. It 
would not be worth while, in fact, to mention 
this Rocky Mountain bull at all, save that foreign 
writers have quoted the description of the monster, 
without questioning the correctness of the dimen- 
sions given."* The moose is a large animal — • 
the largest of the deer family that ever lived — and 
it is quite unnecessary to exaggerate his stature. 

A full-grown bull moose is six feet or more in 
height at the withers. Most measurements have 
been made, however, when the animal was lying 
on the ground. The position of the bones at the 
shoulder joint are not the same in death as in life — 
in the prone and the standing animal. The hoof 
of the prone moose is usually straightened out in a 
way which adds to the seeming stature; and many 
persons in measuring have included the long hair 
of the mane, giving the animal an altogether 
fictitious height.^ 

^ See Big Came Shooting, by Clive Phillipps-WoUey (London, 1894), 
vol. i., p. 397. 

5 Frederick C. Selous, a prolific writer on African hunting, in his 

Recent Hunting Trips in British North America, writing of a moose 

killed in the Yukon mountains in 1904, says, at page 184, "I measured 

it carefully with a steel tape, and made its standing height at the withers 

5 



66 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The height at the shoulder should be measured 
in a straight Hne between perpendiculars when the 
animal is lying on the ground, one perpendicular 
being close to the skin at the shoulder, and the 
other at the bottom of the hoof when the leg is 
straight and the bottom of the hoof parallel with 
the body.^ 

A large moose is taller than the tallest horse, 
but the largest horse is much heavier than the 
heaviest moose. With long legs and short body 
the moose gains in height by comparison with the 
horse, without gaining in weight in proportion. 
The live weight of full-grown moose has seldom 
been ascertained. The dressed weight being 
known, it is easy to introduce a considerable 

six feet and nine inches." The reader must wait till he reaches page 
375 of Mr. Selous's book to learn that the measurement was made to 
"the extremity of the hair on the shoulder blade." The hair was 
doubtless from seven to nine inches long. Measurements of height, 
accordingly, must be accepted with some reserve in the absence of a 
specific statement regarding the manner in which the measurement 
was made. 

^American Natural History (N. Y., 1914), vol. i., p. xxx. A writer 
in the Century Magazine for January, 1894, says, "In October, 1880, 
George Ross killed in Muskoka [Ontario], a moose which, when care- 
fully measured by several persons, stood eight feet two inches at the 
shoulders," but we are not informed how the measurement was made. 
It is well to have the aid of "several persons" if it is desired to establish 
a record. One or two can haul on the hoof while others, in a sort of 
tug of war, pull at the antlers. The distance between the point of the 
hoof and the ends of the hair of along bristling mane in such a case ought 
to show some big figures. But the measurer should state how the 
dimension was ascertained. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 67 

measure of error in making allowance for the en- 
trails, blood, etc. Probably the average mature 
bull moose of New Brunswick or Maine weighs, 
when alive, less than one thousand pounds. One 
weighing twelve hundred pounds or more would 
be an exceptional specimen. 

Mr. Hornaday credits New Brunswick with 
producing the largest moose ever killed and 
measured by experienced and trustworthy hands. 
This was one measured by Carl Rungius, the 
artist. It stood 84 inches high at the shoulder, 
but had rather small antlers. The length of 
head and body, measured in a straight line from 
the nose to the root of the tail, was 115 inches; 
the girth was 96 inches.^ 

In appearance the moose lacks the regal dignity 
of the American elk. He lacks also the show of 
spirit of the whitetail, which manifests itself 
in picturesque poses and graceful movements. 
But the intelligence of the moose is far superior 
to either. With large head, broad muzzle, pre- 
hensile lip, long ears, short and heavy neck, long 
legs, short body, high at the shoulders and low in 
the quarters — surely the moose can lay little 
claim to beauty. 

"> American Natural History (N. Y., 1914), vol. ii., p. I20. 



68 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The hair is coarse and brittle, the color assuming 
various shades of brown, brownish black, and 
gray. Only the extremities are dark, the hair 
near the skin being white. Albino moose are 
unknown. The long hairs, or bristles, of the 
mane and throat are sometimes used by Indians 
for ornamenting moccasins, belts, pouches, and 
similar articles made of mooseskin or buckskin. 
The hairs are dyed in various colors, and are 
commonly employed in applique patterns, as 
porcupine quills and beads are used. From four 
to ten bristles are used together, according to the 
design, and they are stitched down with cotton 
thread.^ The hairs themselves are too brittle to 
be threaded into a needle and drawn through 
buckskin. 

The "bell" is common to males and females. 
Its physiological purpose is unascertained. It 
usually shows its best development in young bulls, 
from ten to fifteen inches being the ordinary 
length. In an older specimen the bell would be 
shorter and wider, and a bull in his prime, with 
massive antlers, commonly has merely a wattle 
or dewlap in place of the bell. A cow moose is 
said to have been taken in Manitoba in 1903, 

' See "Huron Moose-Hair Embroidery," by F. G. Speck, in American 
Anthropologist, Jan.-March, 191 1. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 69 

having a bell thirty-eight inches long, exclusive 
of hair.^ 

The moose's tail is of insignificant proportions. 
Indeed, one old writer denied him the possession 
of any tail at all.'" In a full-grown specimen the 
tail, exclusive of hair, will not exceed 4^2 inches in 
length. 

In intelligence the moose is superior to most 
other varieties of the deer family. But "a little 
knowledge is a dangerous thing," for moose as 
well as men. If in a given tract of ample dimen- 
sions there were fifty moose and fifty whitetail 
deer, and they were hunted with a view to exter- 
mination, the last moose would probably be 
killed long before the last of the whitetails fell 
a victim to the rifle ball. The reason is that 
the moose has a well-defined instinct, developed 
through the ages when his ancestors were pursued 
by carnivorous enemies, and has a certain definite 
motive for each measure of self-protection to which 
he resorts. The foolish whitetail knows no reason 
for seeking safety from pursuit by going " down the 
wind/' The cautious moose learned ages ago 
that by this expedient he could escape the wolf- 

9 Life Histories of Northern Animals, vol. i., p. 163. 
'" Pierre Boucher, Histoire Veritable et Naturelle des Moeurs el des 
Productions du Pays de la Nouvelle France (1663). 



70 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

pack which might be following his track by the 
sense of smell. But man, cleverer than the moose, 
and more formidable than the wolf, thanks to his 
rifle, knows the devices to which the moose will 
resort — and governs himself accordingly. "Of 
all quadrupeds deer are the greatest fools," writes 
Hornaday." In his foolishness in many cases 
lies the safety of the whitetail, for no hunter 
knows what to expect him to do. 

The moose's heaviness and lack of grace have 
sometimes given him the reputation of being 
stupid. But the moose belongs to one of the 
oldest families in the animal kingdom, and it is by 
intelligence rather than by stupidity that the 
family has been able to survive the changes of 
climate, the attacks of predatory animals, and all 
the other vicissitudes of the countless ages since 
the moose first appeared on the continent. 

If a moose, suddenly confronted by a man with 
a rifle, stands for a few seconds to look toward 
the source of danger, it is not because of lack of 
intelligence. He seeks as best he can to ascertain 
the nature of the peril — if indeed there is cause for 
fear. His brief halt is to give time for his senses — 
of smell, of hearing, and of sight — to furnish him 
with a reason for adopting some particular course 

" American Natural History, vol. i., p. xxviii. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 71 

of conduct. Most other species of deer would 
take refuge in unreflecting headlong flight, giving 
no thought to the nature of the peril that was left 
behind. And the moose's caution would involve 
no hazard if it were not for that unaccountable 
rifle. If the moose cannot fathom the mysteries of 
firearms he at least is no worse oflp than those 
sportsmen who, similarly deficient, are responsible 
for the shooting accidents of the hunting season. 

A moose is easily tamed. If captured as a calf 
he shows little fear of men. He is playful and good- 
natured when young, but bad temper shows itself 
later, during the rutting season, and in old moose 
the temper is likely to be uncertain at all seasons. 
In general the moose has been credited with a 
better disposition than most other species of deer. 
But deer of all species, including the moose, are 
more dangerous when domesticated than when 
wild, for the fear of man, which is man's safe- 
guard in the woods, is then lost. 

It is rare that moose have been successfully 
bred in captivity, nor do captive specimens often 
live long. Two moose were secured in Maine In 
1895 for the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, and 
lived there in captivity nearly six years. They 
bred once in that time, but the calf lived only 



72 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

about four weeks. They were fed crushed oats, 
bran, fine sweet clover hay, and willow twigs. 
In winter they were always in good condition, 
but in summer they suffered greatly from the heat, 
and lost flesh. Cincinnati is just north of the 
39th parallel. No other experiment in keeping 
moose in strict captivity in this country has ever 
been so successful. Usually the experiment ends 
in the death of the captive from gastro-enteritis, 
or inflammation of the stomach and intestines, 
in the second or third year. A German writer 
attributes the short life of moose in captivity 
in part to lack of the amount of tannin in their 
food to which they are accustomed. Moose 
also probably need more exercise than they 
usually get when in the ordinary game park of a 
city." 

The propagation of moose and deer in private 
preserves for commercial purposes is discussed in 
a bulletin of the Biological Survey of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, issued December 31, 1910.'^ 
Experiments in this field have been chiefly with 
the wapiti and the Virginia deer, but the author of 
the bulletin states (p. 18) that "perhaps no other 



" See pp. 307 et seq."^ 

" See also a paper by Frederic C. Walcott in Wild Life Conservation 
in Theory and Practice (New Haven, 1914), pp. 195-222. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 73 

American deer is naturally so well adapted to 
domestication as the moose." 

As the writer of the bulletin states (p. 52), 
"the chief obstacle to profitable game propagation 
in the United States lies in the restrictive char- 
acter of State laws affecting the killing, sale, and 
transportation of game." In the interest of the 
game propagator a distinction should be made 
between wild game and game legally acquired and 
kept in private possession for commercial purposes 
or for private use. But "in more than half the 
States and Territories the sale of venison from 
private preserves is illegal at all times," and the 
owner at the same time is forbidden to use the 
venison for food^in his own family. The tendency 
of recent legislation, however, is more favorable 
to the game propagator. 

Disease is not known to have been a factor in 
reducing the numbers seriously in any portion of 
the moose's American range, but the elk of Europe 
suffer often from such ailments as malignant 
anthrax {milzbrand) and rinderpest.^'* Doubtless 
moose living in close proximity to domestic cattle, 
however, as in Europe, are more exposed to 
epizootic attacks than those in forests remote from 
civilization. The age which moose attain under 

'^ See pp. 305-307- 



74 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

favorable conditions is believed to be eighteen or 
twenty years. 

The moose rarely resorts to a running gait, 
unless charging an adversary. This may be 
because his shoulders are higher than his hind- 
quarters. His usual gait is a rapid shambling trot. 
He does not jump like other deer, but, thanks to 
long legs, steps over obstructions which a whitetail 
would clear by a bound. A moose will sometimes 
escape without noise over ground where an Indian 
could hardly pass without being heard. 

Moose have many times been driven to harness. 
For a short distance, on a good road, a good horse 
would prove the better traveler, but at the end 
of the fiftieth mile the horse would be hopelessly 
distanced. Snow of a depth which would offer 
great difficulty to a horse or to cattle does not 
greatly retard a moose, whose long legs are admi- 
rably adapted for travel on rough woods roads or 
in deep snow. 

Prof. Spencer F. Baird of the Smithsonian 
Institution, in a paper on the domestication of 
deer, bison, etc., published in the report of the 
Commissioner of Patents for 1851,'^ says: "A 
gentleman near Houlton, Me., some years since 

'5 Part ii. {Agriculture), p. 115. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 75 

trained a pair [of moose] to draw a sleigh, which 
they did with great steadiness and swiftness, sub- 
ject, however, to the inconvenience that, when 
they once took it into their heads to cool them- 
selves in a neighboring river or lake, no efforts 
could prevent them/' 

New Brunswick guides tell of a moose which 
was driven on the ice of the St. John River many 
years ago from Fredericton to St. John and return 
in a single day, the entire distance being 160 
miles. He was warm but showed little evidence 
of fatigue at the end of the journey. His owner 
gave him the shelter of a stable the following 
night, with the result that the moose died. An 
animal which can survive a winter in the open air 
at the Arctic Circle needs no other stable than that 
which nature furnishes in every forest thicket. 

While a moose is able to travel great distances in 
a short time, nevertheless, if undisturbed, and in a 
section where browse is plenty, he by choice will 
remain indefinitely in a relatively small area. 

The moose is fond of the water. It is his refuge 
from the serious insect pests of summer, and there 
is^ an abundance of feed in the shallow bays. The 
moose swims well, but not rapidly. Like the 
caribou, his shoulders are well above the water 
when swimming. Stone relates how an Alaska bull 



76 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

moose two or three years old swam eight miles 
without showing evidence of exhaustion.'^ Unlike 
the whitetail, a moose will not go on ice if he can 
avoid it. 

In common with some other creatures of the 
woods, the moose has gained a reputation as a 
dangerous animal which his disposition does not 
justify. Attacks upon men made by moose 
are very rare, even in the rutting season. The 
occasional authenticated cases of such attacks 
are generally due, in all probability, to the moose 
in his passion mistaking his adversary for another 
moose. Wounded, and at close quarters, with all 
chance of escape cut off, a moose will of course 
attack a man as a measure of self defence: a 
squirrel would do as much. 

The chief causes which have tended to give 
the moose a reputation for pugnacity have been 
the weaknesses and eccentricities incident to the 
rutting season, and his errors of judgment when 
confused by the glare of light from a jack carried 
by fire hunters in a canoe.'' 

In many camping trips in the moose country, 
seventeen of which have been made in the open 
season, when moose hunting was the chief subject 

'* The Deer Family, p. 318. '' See pp. 146-147. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 77 

of conversation beside the evening fire, the author 
has sought to learn the experience of guides and 
sportsmen in this and similar matters. Once, 
years ago, on the head-waters of the Aroostook 
River, the after-supper subject of discussion was 
the moose as a dangerous antagonist of man. A 
number of guides and others took part in the 
conversation, but none had ever been attacked. 
William Atkins was, as usual, silent. Atkins 
had had more experience in moose hunting than 
anyone else in camp, so I sought to draw him 
out. 

"How is it, WilHam.?" I asked. "What do you 
know about moose attacking men?" 

"Well," drawled Atkins, "I expect I've been 
attacked by moose as many times as most anyone." 

Atkins smoked busily for a minute or two, and 
we had to wait for the interesting details of his 
hair-breadth escapes. Meanwhile the smile which 
played around the corners of his mouth might mean 
most anything. 

"Lots o' times, " said Atkins finally, "IVe wished 
that the moose would get to chasin* after me, 
instead o' leavin' me to chase forever after them. 
But I've never yet seen a moose that wasn't 
mighty glad if he had a chance to run away. 
There's only one dangerous animal in the woods," 



78 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

he added. ''That's a man with a gun which he 
don't know how to use." 

This was an unusually long speech for Atkins to 
make, and he lapsed into silence again. 

A remarkable instance of seeming hostility on 
the part of a moose toward men is related by 
Theodore Roosevelt in Scribners Magazine for 
February, 191 6. Mr. Roosevelt with two guides 
was hunting from a canoe on a lake in the Ste. 
Anne River country northwest of Quebec. On 
the morning of September 19, 1915, he shot a bull 
with antlers spreading fifty-two inches. Late in 
the afternoon of the same day the party en- 
countered another large bull on the same lake. 
The bag limit was one moose, so the men in the 
canoe paddled about, not far from shore, watching 
the moose, which in turn watched them. 

"When we turned he followed us back, and 
thus went to and fro with us. Where the water 
was deep near shore, we pushed the canoe close 
in to him, and he promptly rushed down to the 
water's edge, shaking his head, and striking the 
earth with his fore hoofs. We shouted at him 
but with no effect. . . . Altogether the huge 
black beast looked like a formidable customer, 
and was evidently in a most evil rage and bent 
on man-killing. For over an hour he thus kept 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 79 

us from the shore, running to meet us wherever 
we tried to go." 

Finally the moose left, following a stream 
which flowed parallel with the portage trail which 
the party In the canoe must take to reach their 
camp. After waiting a few minutes the party 
landed and started up the trail. 

"A couple of hundred yards on, the trail led to 
within a few yards of the little river. As we 
reached this point a smashing in the brush beyond 
the opposite bank caused us to wheel, and the 
great bull came headlong for us, while Arthur 
called to me to shoot. With a last hope of frighten- 
ing him I fired over his head, without the slightest 
effect. At a slashing trot he crossed the river, 
shaking his head, his ears back, the hair on his 
withers bristling. 

"'TireZy msieUy tirez! vite, vitef* called 
Arthur; and when the bull was not thirty feet 
off I put a bullet Into his chest, in the sticking 
point. It was a mortal wound and stopped him 
short. . . . 

"I do not believe that this vicious bull moose 
had ever seen a man. I have never heard of 
another moose acting with the same determina- 
tion and perseverance in ferocious malice; It be- 
haved, as I have said, like some of the rare 



8o THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

vicious rogues among African elephants, buffaloes, 
and rhinoceroses." 

An affidavit attesting the facts satisfied the 
Secretary of the Department of Colonization, 
Mines, and Fisheries at Quebec, and no official 
notice was taken of the technical breach of the 
game law. 

Conflicting opinions regarding the pugnacity 
of moose in their relations with human beings may 
be reconciled if we consider that moose some- 
times — but not often — experience a condition 
akin to insanity among men. The normal moose 
is harmless. 

If there are more than three or four authenti- 
cated cases of men losing their lives in the woods 
as the result of being attacked by moose, the 
author has been unable to find them mentioned 
in the published literature relating to moose 
hunting, or in the stories told by woodsmen whom 
he has met. He is thus forced to the conclusion 
that the danger of attack is a negligible quantity. 

"The hunter has been injured much oftener 
by the common Virginia deer than by the moose. 
Near Fort Norman on the Mackenzie, a few years 
ago, a wounded bull charged and killed an Indian 
hunter who in his effort to escape was held by his 
clothing catching on a snag. Had the bull missed 




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TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 8i 

him in his first charge he would not have renewed 
it; few wild animals will return to a charge, failing 
in the first."^« 

Moose fight with others of their own kind only 
in the rutting season. At this season those of the 
fighting sex are equipped with antlers, and the 
antlers are the weapons for attack and defence 
in such contests. Against animals of other species 
the moose deems his hoofs his most effective 
weapons, but such battles are generally fought in 
seasons when horns are lacking. Indeed, the moose 
rarely has occasion to fight, since in most of his 
range the wolf has been exterminated. 

The growth of the antlers of the bull moose,'* 
and the brief season of mating, are physiologically 
closely associated. With antlers fully grown, the 

i8 Andrew J. Stone in The Deer Family, p. 314- A writer in The Big 
Game of North America (Chicago, 1890), page 25, tells how a few years 
before a moose was attacked while swimming in Clear Water River in 
Idaho by a party of rivermen in a bateau. The men used axes, cant- 
hooks, and other implements of the woods as weapons of offense. The 
writer tells us that the boat contained six men and three tons of cargo. 
"The moose struck the boat with his antlers, and raised it clear out of 
the water, turning it upside down so quickly that the men were all 
frightened and stunned, and two of them were either killed or drowned." 
We are told that it was a large moose. A moose that can lift a bateau 
with six men and three tons of cargo by his antlers while swimming has 
to be large. But the moose of Idaho are not noted for excessive size, 
and this story, like that of the Rocky Mountain bull by the same 
writer (see p. 64), may be dismissed as the work of one who was 
careless with regard to facts. 

»9 See Chap, viii., on "Heads and Horns." 
6 



82 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

bull sets out to find a mate, manifesting a variety 
of emotions and qualities in his encounters with 
moose and men which are doubtless as little 
understood by himself as by any hunter who may 
chance to observe him. 

Those who have written of the moose differ 
widely on the question whether moose are monoga- 
mous. If they were monogamous they would 
be alone in the deer family in this respect. An 
argument against the theory that moose are 
monogamous is the fact that in territory where 
the cows are protected, and the bulls freely killed, 
there is no undue proportion of barren cows. 

Successful hunting in the calling season pre- 
supposes close study of the moose's habits, and 
especially his habits as affected by the mating 
instinct. Those who have observed the moose 
most minutely at this season generally agree that 
the male and female remain together, if undis- 
turbed, a week or ten days. The female then no 
longer desires a mate, and the male seeks other 
companionship. The male thus may have several 
mates in the short season of the rut. If the bull is 
driven out by a hunter, or is a loser in a contest 
with another bull, he will leave the cow of his 
choice, and then will readily respond to the call 
of any unmated cow whose voice he may chance 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 83 

to hear. There is no reason whatever to suppose 
that the same pair will mate together for successive 

seasons. 

Contests between bulls in the mating season 
are of frequent occurrence, and the skins of old 
bulls often show the scars of many such battles.'" 
If a cow is a spectator of a contest between two 
bulls which have come in response to her call, 
she is an indifferent one. Indeed, a cow has been 
known to accept the attentions of a crotch-horn 
bull while two older bulls were engaged in a 
frenzied combat to determine which should enjoy 
her companionship. Concerning the wallow, a 
small shallow excavation in the ground which is 
frequently observed in moose territory, opinions 
are at variance. Its chief characteristic is an evil 
odor caused by the urine which the moose deposit 
there. It is associated with the period of the rut, 
but is not, as some assume, a trysting place of the 
sexes. It is made by the male, but apparently 
not for the purpose of attracting the female. 

A cow moose usually has one or two calves at a 
tijne— very rarely three. Most species of deer 
are less prolific. In the southern portion of the 

" The eflfects of such a fight are described by Thomas Martindale in 
Hunting in the Upper Yukon (Philadelphia, 1913), PP- 161-165. 



84 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

moose's range the calves are born late in April 
or early in May. Farther north the time is 
somewhat later. The birthplace of the ungainly 
little things is usually a densely wooded island, or 
other place which the mother deems safe from 
bears. If the birthplace is an island the grotesque 
youngsters may be seen, when still very young, 
swimming with their mother's aid. The calves 
boldly follow the mother into the water, and if 
distrustful of their own clumsy paddles support 
themselves by placing their fore hoofs on the 
mother's back, and thus convoyed make their 
way across broad reaches of water to the mainland. 

Long loose-jointed legs, with short little body 
and high shoulders like a hunchback, give the 
calf moose an almost uncouth appearance. At 
six weeks of age he will weigh less than a hundred 
pounds, but will be as tall as a mature buck deer 
of the white-tail variety weighing two hundred and 
fifty pounds or more. The calf's neck is so short 
that he must kneel to touch the ground with his 
nose. His hair is woolly, of a sandy or light bay 
color, but as a yearling he assumes the blackish 
brown of adult life, the brown shading into yellow- 
ish gray on the legs and belly. The nose and 
upper lip are undeveloped In the calf. 

The calf's growth is exceedingly rapid. Ac- 




A Calf Moose (Age about One Week) 
(Reproduced by Permission of Mr. Julian A. Dimock) 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 85 

cording to Andrew J. Stone '^ a calf a week old, 
weighing sixty-five pounds, will stand thirty-three 
inches high at the shoulders ; the same calf at five 
months will be about sixty-seven inches high, and 
weigh six hundred pounds. But most moose at 
five months old are smaller than this. 

Calves usually remain with their mother until 
their little half-brothers or half-sisters are born, 
and a yearling bull will often remain in the com- 
pany of his mother — or not far away — even when 
she is with her new mate. As a crotch-horn, 
however, he would be driven away by the bull, 
if not by the cow herself. 

The cow does not show the courage in defending 
her calf from apprehended attack with which she 
is credited. Calves manifest little or no fear of 
men, but of course will generally follow their 
mother in flight. Major Charles W. Hinman, 
who has a longer list of moose on his score of game 
killed than any other sportsman of my acquaint- 
ance, tells of capturing two calf moose in Nova 
Scotia and photographing them while the mother 
discreetly retreated to the shelter of the neighbor- 
ing woods. It was on a meadow on the Shelburne 
River, May 17, 1915, and the calves, a male and 
female, were no more than two days old. The 

•' The Deer Family, p. 295. 



86 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

youngsters manifested no concern at being aban- 
doned by their mother. The party in two canoes 
were in quest of trout. When the camera had 
done its work the men returned to their canoes and 
pushed off from shore, but the young moose 
followed into the water. Both showed some 
distress at being abandoned by their new-found 
friends, and one put his fore feet over the gunwale 
of one of the canoes in an effort to climb into it. 
The two calves were then taken back to the land, 
and carried by the guides some distance from the 
shore, where they were left, the guides returning 
at top speed to the canoes. As the canoes were 
paddled rapidly up the river the calves were seen 
making their way as fast as their feeble young 
legs would carry them toward the shore again, 
but the mother was nowhere in sight. Later in 
the day the party returned that way, but could 
find neither the cow nor calves. No doubt the 
little family, reunited, was safe in some friendly 
thicket." 

The moose is a ruminant, and is often seen 
standing listlessly chewing the cud. His dietary 
is more varied than that of most deer. It in- 

»' See "How We Tamed Calf Moose," by Chauncey J. Hawkins, in 
Outing for November, 191 1. See also "Baby Moose," by A. W. 
Dimock, in Country Life in America for May, 19 10. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 87 

eludes the twigs, leaves, and occasionally the bark 
of a variety of maples, including the striped maple 
or moosewood. It includes also willow, birch, 
alder, poplar, mountain ash, and witch hazel. 
Moss and lichens too are on his menu, and in the 
summer the stems, roots, and pads of lilies and 
various other water plants. In the autumn and 
winter young spruces and ground hemlock are 
favored articles of diet, and the leaves and twigs 
of other coniferous trees. Burnt land, with one 
or two seasons' fresh growth of willows, is an 
especially popular feeding ground. Like all mam- 
mals, moose are fond of salt. 

In table manners the moose shows little of the 
gentility of most of the deer. He of necessity 
straddles like a giraffe to reach moss or other 
browse which is close to the ground, and often 
rears on his hind legs to reach attractive morsels 
which cannot otherwise be nibbled from the 
limbs of trees. He frequently "rides down" 
saplings by walking over them, bringing the 
tender twigs at the top within easy reach. In 
good moose country hundreds of the smaller 
deciduous trees will be seen which have been 
"peeled," the moose by an upward movement 
of the head stripping off the bark with his 
chisel-like Incisors. He peels only one side of 



88 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



a tree, with the result that the tree is not 
killed. 

Like most of the ruminants, the moose has no 
front teeth in the upper jaw. In addition to the 
eight sharp-edged incisors in the lower jaw, the 
moose has a battery of molars which would serve 
as a model for a pulp mill. These molars easily 




Skull of a Moose 

grind up twigs as thick as a man's finger. The 
milk teeth in the single line of incisors are narrower 
and more pointed than the permanent ones. 
They are gradually replaced, those in the center 
of the row being the first to give way. 

Little attention has been paid by American 
naturalists to the subject of the moose's teeth. 
The author, like most sportsmen, has had scant 
opportunity to study the teeth of cows, or im- 
mature bulls, and the published works on zoology 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 89 

give little information concerning the time when 
the milk teeth make way for the permanent ones 
in any of the moose family. Professor Nitsche 
of the Academy of Forestry at Tharand, Saxony, 
says that the milk teeth of the moose and other 
CervidcB are replaced much earlier than in the case 
of the Bovidcs. The incisors of the male calf, he 
says, are replaced "at the time of the growth of 
the first antlers, accordingly at the age of from 
eight to twelve months; the molars are replaced 
at the time of the second antlers, or at the age of 
fifteen or sixteen months."''^ The author cannot 
believe, however, that the full set of permanent 
teeth is attained at so early an age. In old age 
the incisors are gradually lost, thus increasing the 
difficulties of subsistence. 

There is little difference between the night and 
the day in the routine of a moose's life. He travels 
and feeds at night as well as by day; he lies down 
to rest by day as well as by night. He usually 
browses until an hour or two before midday, and 
then for two or three hours is likely to lie down and 
chew the cud of idle contemplation. As he is 
more on his guard when resting the hunter should 
increase his own caution in proportion. 

»3 A. Martenson, Der Elch (Riga, 1903), p. 8. 



90 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Wild animals often appear to be practically color 
blind. The creatures of the woods seem to pay 
little more attention to a scarlet coat, such as 
some apprehensive woodsmen wear, than to one 
of more subdued color. Thus a flaming garment 
may be a partial safeguard against the reckless 
hunter who is inclined to shoot at every moving 
thing which he sees, while the same garment, if its 
wearer is standing still, will arouse no especial 
suspicion on the part of the moose. It has been 
remarked that wild animals recognize danger 
only in life, and life only in motion. A man 
standing still in the woods, in plain view, even 
if dressed in conspicuous colors, will often be dis- 
regarded by moose, provided the wind does not 
carry the scent of the man in the direction of the 
animal. A slight movement on the man's part, 
however, will tell the moose that he is in dangen 

The sense of sight in all the deer family is 
obtuse and uncertain. In this respect man is 
altogether superior to most animals. 

On one occasion in Nova Scotia we were on our 
way to a calling stand a mile and a half from camp, 
and were crossing one of the broad barrens which 
are the chief characteristic of the moose territory 
of Canada's "Province In the sea." We had 
traveled a mile or more, laden with packs contain- 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 91 

ing a canvas lean-to, blankets, extra clothing, 
and provisions for a supper and breakfast. When 
in the middle of the barren we noticed two moose 
standing in the edge of the sparse timber which 
fringed the broad open bog. We had no glass, 
but the guide, with younger eyes than his employer, 
was sure he saw antlers on both heads. 

It was a long shot. I had killed a dozen moose 
before that, but had perhaps never fired at one at 
much more than half this distance. It seemed 
to be more than four hundred yards. I had 
targetted my rifle at various measured ranges 
up to three hundred yards, so I threw off my pack 
and raised the rear sight to the three hundred 
yards' mark. The wide expanse of hardback 
and low white alders which covered the bog would 
hide the moose from view if I tried a knee rest, 
so standing up and aiming from the shoulder, but 
holding for a point just over the moose's back, I 
pulled the trigger. Both animals at once started, 
and ran toward us. It seemed a strange maneuver 
on their part. They came diagonally about fifty 
yards nearer, and stopped. I fired again, at the 
same one as before, but they stood rigid. A 
third shot, aiming high as before, caused my moose 
to make a convulsive movement, which told me 
that I had scored a hit. He ran back, soon stopping 



92 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

and looking in our direction, while his companion 
took another course, but keeping for some time in 
vieWo My moose made one or two short runs, and 
finally disappeared in the thicket and scattered 
timber which formed the background of the 
picture. 

The sun would set in another half hour. It was 
slow work crossing the bog and the sluggish 
stream which lay between us and the trail of the 
wounded moose, and it was still slower work 
tracking on the bare ground by the aid of scattered 
drops of blood. The trail of blood led us half or 
three-quarters of a mile. The moon, which was 
nearly full, contributed more light than the sun, 
which was already below the horizon, when we 
finally came upon my moose lying down. He 
got upon his feet, but only to receive the coup 
de grace. The previous shot had hit low in the 
hind-quarters, but he had suffered no broken 
bones. 

We discussed that unexpected movement, when, 
after the first shot, the two animals ran toward 
us, and agreed that their dim eyesight had shown 
them merely two unidentified figures, moving on 
the open bog. They stood at attention, looking 
toward the dark moving objects, when the first 
bullet probably struck a rock behind them, toward 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 93 

the edge of the timber. The noise of the un- 
expected blow on the rock near at hand no doubt 
seemed to them a more imminent peril than the 
report of the rifle far off on the barren, and they 
ran from the nearer danger. 

The subsequent shots, and the crippling sting 
in the hind-quarters, told one moose that danger 
was abroad on the barren, and the retreat of the 
wounded bull told his companion that it was 
time to seek a change of scene. Probably neither 
moose could see the dark objects on the bog with 
sufficient distinctness to identify them as the chief 
enemies of their race, but Judson Gray, expert 
moose hunter and caller, with the eyes of a man 
in his prime, could easily see the antlers on the 
heads of the moose. It seemed to me to be a 
clear demonstration of the inferiority of the 
moose's vision. 

The moose's superiority in his sense of smell and 
hearing, much more than offsets his deficiency of 
vision. Sometimes the moose's ability to scent 
danger and escape it is surprising. In other 
cases he shows a degree of indifference to the scent 
and sight of man that is inexplicable. It has 
been said that this occasional indifference is met 
only in sections where moose and men have been 



94 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

close neighbors. But George Shiras, 3d,^^ relates 
instances of the moose's disregard of men in the 
Kenai Peninsula more striking than any ever 
observed by the author in Eastern Canada and 
Maine. 

Mr. Shiras tells how he photographed an old 
cow at a mud-hole much frequented by the moose. 

"Determined to try for a close picture, and to 
test her disposition when thus interrupted, I 
boldly walked In view, crossing the bare and 
much-trampled field to within fifty feet. She 
stood broadside, head up, and unquestionably 
looking at me out of one eye, but to all appear- 
ances utterly indifferent to my approach. Taking 
a picture, I went a little closer, when she turned 
away without looking, and again the camera 
recorded the scene. 

"While changing plate-holders, I was surprised 
to see the moose turn about and come toward 
me on a slow trot. To the uninitiated this would 
probably have meant a bold charge, and to the 
nature faker sufficient grounds for an exciting 
story. . . . Wishing to avoid alarming her so soon, 
I backed across the field to the edge of the marsh, 
but she still followed. Turning my back to the 
animal, I walked ahead, and upon reaching a place 

'■• National Geographic Magazine, May, 1912, pp. 447, 449. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 95 

where the ground was almost impassable with 
fallen timber, I stopped. . . . The cow immedi- 
ately came up, circled almost within reach, and 
then was struck by the scent. The effect was 
instantaneous and remarkable. . . . With a quick 
awkward plunge, she made off at her fastest gait." 

F. C. Selous, in his Recent Hunting Trips in 
British North America, tells of still-hunting in 
the snow in the Yukon Mountains "where in all 
probability the foot of a white man had never 
trodden before." "I stood literally within ten 
paces of the sleeping moose," he writes. A 
bullet in the neck gave the Englishman a fine fat 
moose with antlers spreading 58^ inches.^^ 

On another occasion, two years later, in the 
East Yukon country, firing at a large bull from a 
rocking canoe he made a miss. The distance was 
less than thirty yards. "He stood perfectly 
still, right in the open ground, and broadside on, 
with his head turned toward us. . . . But the 
moose never moved a muscle until my second shot 
struck him. . . . Then he turned slowly round 
and walked toward the forest behind him." Mr. 
Selous was using a single-shot rifle. Two more 
bullets ended the hunt."^^ 



*s Pages 16, 182. The moose was shot September 8, 1904. 
a6 Ubi supra, p. 371. 



96 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Paul Niedieck gives the details of a moose hunt 
near Tustumena Lake, on the Kenai Peninsula, 
in October, 1906. There had been no hunting 
in that region for three years, he said. On the 
day in question, after seeing more than a dozen 
moose, and hearing others, he finally shot a bull. 
"When the moose fell," he writes, "the woods 
became alive about me. From all sides the moose 
came forward — some twenty in all. They stood 
and looked at me, each one wishing to satisfy 
his curiosity. A cow came directly toward me, as 
if she wished to avenge her mate, and would not 
leave until my guide threw sticks at her. I was 
busy removing the antlers, which had a spread of 
65 inches, when a smaller full-grown bull came on 
the scene. He gave me time to put a fresh film 
in my camera, and I was able then to photograph 
him several times."""^ 

Andrew J. Stone refers somewhat disparagingly 
to Maine as affording opportunity for "a parlor 
moose hunt.'"^ And Madison Grant writes: "It 
is difficult for a hunter whose experience is limited 
to Maine or the maritime provinces, to appreciate 
how very shy and wary a moose can be."''^ But 

'1 Kreuzfahrten im Beringmeer (Berlin, 1907), p. 216. 
»8 The Deer Family, p. 323. 

»» Seventh Report N. Y. State Forest, Fish,and Game Commission, 1901, 
p. 230. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 97 

the author, with considerable experience in hunting 
moose in Maine and the maritime provinces, has 
never found moose so nearly "halter-broke" as 
those described by Mr. Shiras, Mr. Selous, and Mn 
Niedieck. 

Deep snow, crusted, leaves the moose compara- 
tively helpless in the presence of wolves, cougars, 
and men. At no other season need a full-grown 
moose fear any animal which seeks his prey without 
the aid of firearms. 

When the snow becomes deep moose gather in 
"yards.'* The little community usually consists 
of from three to half a dozen animals, mostly 
young bulls, cows, and calves. The old bulls are 
inclined to keep by themselves. The yarding 
place is chosen where feed is plenty, and a network 
of paths admits of considerable movement within 
a limited area. When the feed is exhausted in 
this area a path is broken to some neighboring 
thicket, and so, by an occasional short migration, 
the food problem is easily solved. If a season's 
snowfall chances to be light, the moose do not 
yard at all, yarding seeming to be dictated solely 
by an instinct which thus provides protection 
for the weaker animals, at the season when escape 
from danger by flight is impossible. With the 



98 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

melting of the snow in spring the little herd dis- 
perses, the cows, with the calves, seeking a quiet 
retreat where the calves of the next generation 
may be born in safety. 

In Nova Scotia the moose rarely find the snow 
in winter much more than knee-deep. Conse- 
quently they do not remain in restricted yards, 
but are frequently seen crossing the open snow- 
covered barrens, seeking the sweet fern, which is 
a favorite article of their food. In the remote 
Northwest, too, contrary to common supposition, 
the snowfall is much less than in the woods of 
Maine and New Brunswick, and the moose move 
about with nearly as great freedom in winter as 
in the spring and autumn.^° 

J" See article by Tappan Adney, " Moose-Hunting" with the Tro-chu- 
tin, " in Harper's Magazine for March, 1900. Mr. Adney gives an 
interesting account of a winter moose-hunting trip with a large party of 
Klondike Indians. The hunt lasted three months, and yielded about 
eighty moose. 




November in the Moose Woods 



CHAPTER IV 



STILL-HUNTING 



Still-hunting, or "stalking," as it is often 
called, is the commonest present-day method of 
hunting the moose. It is perhaps the only method 
which always and everywhere — if moose hunting 
is permitted at all — measures up to every stand- 
ard of sportsmanship, and falls under no legal 
ban. 

The strategy of still-hunting is in many respects 
the same whether one is seeking moose or other 
large game. An experienced hunter of the smaller 
species of deer is likely, however, to fail signally 
if he seeks the moose in a section where moose 
are few and wary, unless he has familiarity with 
the moose's habits, and can read aright the special 
"signs'* which are relied upon to lead one within 
gunshot of the coveted head. For the purposes 
of the present work the writer will assume that the 
reader is familiar with deer hunting in general, 
for it is rare that one sets out in quest of moose 

99 



100 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

without first serving an apprenticeship as a hunter 
of the whitetail or similar game. 

Through uncounted centuries the Instinct of 
the moose was developed with a view to self- 
preservation. The moose of today possesses this 
instinct, the inheritance of his race, and it would be 
adequate to enable him to cope with the cougar 
and the wolf and his other traditional enemies 
which are commonly called predatory. But the 
most terrible animal of all Is a late comer — and 
he brought the rifle. Moose tactics furnish safe- 
guards against creatures which stealthily follow 
their intended victims by the aid of a powerful 
sense of smell. But this late comer, who lacks 
keenness of scent, often remains Invisible, and 
from a distance strikes a mortal blow. The 
inheritance of Instinct, alas, furnishes no safeguard 
against the Invisible bullet. 

The art of still-hunting consists in taking advan- 
tage of man's superior reasoning power, his superior 
eyesight, and the inventive skill which gives him 
the rifle, to bring to bag the animals which could 
easily outwit or outfight their fellow wild animals 
which fight with teeth and claws. If still-hunting 
is more sportsmanlike than calling or jacking or 
dogging, it is because in still-hunting man at his 
best is pitted against the moose at his best, and 



STILL-HUNTING loi 

the result is never a foregone conclusion. Still- 
hunting is possible at all seasons, and in the 
pursuit of all species of deer. Calling is effective 
for a limited season; it is eifective only when the 
moose is thrown off his guard by the violence of 
his passions. Successful still-hunting presupposes 
a considerable degree of alertness and skill in 
woodcraft, on the part of sportsman and guide 
alike. Calling, it has been said, presupposes 
experience and vocal skill on the part of a guide, 
and little but patience on the part of his employer. 
A good still-hunter possesses the gift of exact 
observation in a high degree. Book knowledge 
will never serve as a substitute: it may aid in 
giving direction to the powers of personal observa- 
tion, but it can do little more. And besides the 
power of close observation, the still-hunter must 
possess vigilance, unremitting vigilance. 

A sportsman and a guide once followed a moose 
track for three or four hours in two feet of soft 
snow. There were no snowshoes within fifteen 
miles. Snowshoes would have been of little 
assistance in any event, for they would have 
sunk deep in the light dry snow, but walking 
without them was slow and tedious. Further- 
more, moose were few and very worldly-wise. 



102 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

As a result, if one found a track whose freshness 
gave any sort of promise, he was incHned to make 
the most of it. 

When first seen the track was nearly two days 
old. The hoof-prints were not those of a moose 
which would break any records, but it was almost 
the end of the season, and it would not do to be too 
particular. After two hours or so the track was 
much fresher, for several round beds in the snow 
had been passed where the animal had lain to 
rest and ruminate. The timber was open hard- 
wood, and while the track seemed to be that of a 
bull, the evidence was not conclusive, and the 
desired evidence that a good pair of antlers was 
waiting at the other end of the track was entirely 
lacking. 

Dinner time came, with the convenient brook 
for water. The dinner pack disclosed some slices 
of venison steak and a small frypan — an unusual 
utensil under the circumstances. 

"I guess we are booked for a cold lunch,'* 
remarked the hunter, having in mind the com- 
paratively fresh moose works. 

"0, he's three hours ahead of us!" said the 
guide. "We may as well have some hot tea and 
steak." 

While the guide was coaxing a fire out of two or 



STILL-HUNTING 103 

three handfuls of dry sticks the sportsman went 
down to the brook to fill the tea pail, and he 
agreed that the track of the moose where it crossed 
was several hours old. 

Dinner caused a delay of thirty minutes per- 
haps, and the men resumed the trail across the 
little brook. ... I am not at liberty to print 
what the guide said when he had gone thirty 
yards or so up the other bank. Not that it was 
confidential — it was merely unprintable. For that 
track three or four hours old was crossed by 
another hardly an hour old, showing that the 
moose had made one of his frequent loops, and, 
crossing his own track, had lain down for a noon- 
day siesta less than a hundred yards from where 
the miserable fire of the dinner camp had sent 
out its notice to everything in the neighboring 
woods that men were abroad. There was the 
bed in the snow, and there were the long strides 
of the frightened fugitive leading from it. But 
we never saw that moose. 

Eternal vigilance is the price of moose steak. 
We didn't pay the price, and we didn't get the 
steak. The guide's attempt at consolation by 
concluding that it was only a cow moose, after all, 
reminded me merely of the fox's opinion that the 
inaccessible grapes were not sweet enough to eat 



104 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

anyway, without lightening the burden of a 
homeward journey empty-handed. 

In addition to vigilance, persistence and some 
measure of physical endurance are needed by the 
still-hunter. Since the mountain will not come 
to Mahomet, Mahomet must perforce journey to 
the mountain. Occasionally one stumbles on a 
fine moose and gets a shot without the long 
patient search, but this is a rare exception to the 
general rule. 

One sunny afternoon in early October I was 
idling about a Nova Scotia camp. I was giving 
little thought to moose, for my hunt had ended 
successfully three days before. In front of the 
camp stood a wagon on which my moose was 
loaded; in the rear the oxen which were to draw 
the load to the settlement were peacefully eating 
their supper. A young man named Lovitt, who 
lived in Yarmouth, and his guide, Clarence Gray, 
were making us a visit. Lovitt had been hunting 
unsuccessfully for ten days or so, making his 
headquarters at a camp five or six miles below us. 

I chanced to be on the platform before the camp 
when I heard a commotion inside. Lovitt had 
sprung to his feet and seized his rifle, and was 
rushing to the open window. I stepped to the 



STILL-HUNTING 105 

end of the platform to see what was causing the 
excitement, and looking around the corner of 
the cabin saw a large moose facing me twenty- 
five yards away. At that instant Lovitt's rifle 
cracked, and two or three seconds later he was 
on the ground outside. After firing, seeing the 
moose retreat, he stepped from a chair to the top 
of the dining table, and then plunged through the 
window, his shoulders breaking the casing above 
the opening as he threw himself in great excite- 
ment into the open air. Two more shots were 
fired and the moose fell dead sixty-eight yards 
from the cabin. 

The moose was old and battle-scarred. He 
bore antlers spreading 49 inches, and having 11 -l-/ 
points. This moose had approached the camp 
from the leeward — perhaps in flight before a 
younger and more vigorous antagonist. The 
odors of the oxen and the smoke from the camp 
stove had had no deterring effect. It was Lovitt*s 
first moose. In a lifetime of hunting he may 
never get another with so little effort. 

A windy or rainy day is favorable for still- 
hunting moose, because the sound of a stick 
breaking under the hunter's foot will then be less 
noticeable. Wet leaves, furthermore, will not 



io6 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

rustle under the feet as dry ones will. Moose 
lie down often for an hour or two, and always 
lie down at midday. They are more watchful 
when lying down than when traveling or feeding. 
At midday, accordingly, especial watchfulness is 
incumbent on the hunter. 

The track of a moose is like that of a domestic 
cow, but larger, and somewhat more pointed. 
The means by which the freshness of a track may 
be determined are various. In this respect there 
is no material difference between tracking moose 
and tracking the smaller species of deer. It is 
necessary to take notice of atmospheric condi- 
tions. Aided by knowledge of a recent shower, 
or flurry of snow, or the effect of freezing, one can 
judge how much time has elapsed since the animal 
which made the track passed that way. On bare 
ground a track made two hours ago generally 
looks very much like one that is only ten minutes 
old, but this is not the case when hunting on snow. 
Snow freshly turned up has a sparkle which is soon 
lost by disintegration of the crystals at the surface. 
The experienced tracker always seeks by a com- 
prehensive view to see a long series of footprints at 
once, and thus keep the general direction in which 
they lead, rather than to waste time by looking in 
succession at the individual footprints close at hand. 



STILL-HUNTING 107 

With some study one can learn to distinguish 
between freshly nibbled twigs, and twigs which 
were cropped several hours earlier, by the color 
and moisture of the exposed inner bark and the 
wood. Similarly the freshness of the peeling of 
bark on the trunks of trees may be judged. But 
most hunters rely less on such signs than on those 
pertaining to the tracks of the animal. 

Two men can hunt more effectively together 
than one alone, if they are equally painstaking. A 
guide, leading the way and studying the tracks, 
the evidences of browsing, and the many other 
things which demand attention, may easily frighten 
the animal which made the tracks, if the animal 
chances to be a hundred yards away and looking 
along his back track as he feeds. But the sports- 
man following the guide, if he keeps a sharp 
lookout for a possible quick shot, paying little 
attention to the tracks, Is ready with his rifle 
for just such an exigency. 

Where a sportsman has a little experience, and 
enters thoroughly into the spirit of the hunt, it is 
probable that he will see the game that he Is seek- 
ing before his guide sees It twice out of three 
times. This Is no disparagement of the guide. 
In the division of activity as above outlined it is 
to be expected. 



io8 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Moose show fear of the tracks of men only 
when the tracks are fresh, and still hold the human 
scent. In snow the scent quickly disappears, 
but on bare ground, in warm weather, it will 
remain for hours. A number of times I have 
observed fresh moose tracks leading to the track 
of a man made an hour or two earlier, and then 
following alongside the human track without 
crossing, as if it were a barrier to be dreaded. 
Sometimes the moose had followed alongside for 
some rods, and then jumped across and fled, run- 
ning as if he thought the tracks could chase him. 

The size of the moose is fairly indicated by the 
size of his footprint, but the spread or quality of 
his antlers cannot be so easily estimated. Body 
and hoof increase a little in size after a bull passes 
his prime, while the antlers deteriorate in old age. 
The length of the stride in walking, and the height 
at which the moose can reach browse on the trees, 
are other indications of size. If places are found 
where a moose has gone between trees, the spread 
of his antlers, if he has any, may often be closely 
estimated. On one occasion I followed the track 
of a moose which led up a hill, and between some 
small trees. The guide studied the evidences 
carefully. 



STILL-HUNTING 109 

"No!" said he finally. "That moose can't 
have any horns. If he had, they'd have knocked 
the snow off that fir, or else he'd have scrope the 
other tree." 

I was not sure that "scrope" was a correct past 
participle of the verb "to scrape," but I was quite 
sure that the pair of antlers I was looking for had 
not been carried between those trees. 

Little assistance in judging the age or size of a 
moose is afforded by the teeth-marks on trees, 
where the bark has been peeled. After the moose 
has lost his milk teeth, and has come into posses- 
sion of those of maturity, there is no increase in 
their size. An old moose is likely to have defective 
incisors, but often the front teeth of a three-year- 
old will show similar defects. The middle front 
teeth of mature moose are about half an inch in 
width. They are like gouge chisels, but are often 
scalloped into a sort of double gouge, which 
would give the hunter, intent on studying the 
"peelings" on trees, the impression that the teeth 
were much smaller than they really are. Further- 
more, a large moose often leaves on the tree-trunk 
the marks of the narrower incisors at the end of the 
little row of chisels, causing the hunter to infer 
that the peeling was the work of a yearling.^ 

' See pp. 87-89. 



no THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Many a clever stalk, which has led to a moose 
within easy gunshot, has ended in the disappoint- 
ing discovery that it was only a cow moose, after 
all. The first question then, when a track is 
found is, is it a bull or a cow? The visible differ- 
ences are not certain and precise. 

The hoofprint of the cow is generally more 
pointed than that of the bull. The cow rarely 
peels bark; the bull often does, especially in the 
fall. The cow rarely browses fir; the bull rarely 
browses birch. The balls of excrement of the 
cow are oval and long; those of the bull are more 
nearly spherical, and flattened by being pressed 
together. If two or three moose are traveling in 
company, as frequently happens, certain tracks are 
likely to lead between trees which are close to- 
gether, while the track of one animal may turn out 
— indicating the possession of a pair of antlers 
that could not be easily maneuvered in narrow 
quarters. 

If a moose track leads to windward, and is 
three or four hours old, it is safe to follow it rapidly, 
for the animal's scent will not tell him that he is 
pursued. If the track is much fresher, but the 
moose is not stopping to feed, it may be followed 
somewhat rapidly. When, however, the track is 



STILL-HUNTING i" 

fresh, and it is evident that the animal is not far 
away, and has been feeding, the hunter should 
leave the track, making a series of zigzags across it, 
and keeping a close watch to windward. The 
purpose of this maneuver is to avoid getting on 
the weather side of the moose if he has made one 



A—- 




Hunting against the Wind 

of his customary loops "down the wind" as a 
preliminary to lying down. 

In the diagram the arrows indicate the direction 
of the wind. The dotted line represents the track 
of the moose from A to windward as far as B, 
where he loops down the wind to C for a rest. 
The hunter, seeing that the track is fresh, zigzags 
DEFGH, and at I, if he has conducted the stalk 
skillfully, he may get a shot. On the other 
hand, if the hunter followed the moose track 
without zigzagging, he would not go far beyond 



112 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

B before the animal would get his scent, and take 
flight. 

If the track leads "down the wind" the hunter 
may as before follow rapidly so long as the track 
is some hours old. In general terms it may be 
assumed that the moose will lie down for an 




Hunting with the Wind 

hour or two at a time, and he will lie down a 
number of times in a day. When a place is 
reached where the moose has lain, the "sign" will 
of course be fresher after he has left his bed, and 
caution must be exercised accordingly. When it is 
judged that the moose is not more than two or three 
hundred yards away, and is not traveling rapidly, 
as shown by his feeding, it is time to maneuver for 
the leeward position. This is done by making a 
series of loops, as in the diagram. The moose is 
going down the wind, from K to L. The hunter. 



STILL-HUNTING 113 

knowing that the wind favors the moose, makes a 
loop, MNO, the loop having a radius of a quarter 
of a mile or more. He finds, however, that the 
moose is still ahead of him. He may make several 
such loops before heading the animal. When he 
makes the loop OPQ without coming upon the 
track, he assumes that he has the leeward position, 
and begins a series of zigzags, QRS, to hunt out 
the moose from the leeward side, as before. At 
S he ought to get a shot. 

Of course, at O, or an5rwhere else, for that mat- 
ter, the hunter may find that he has by chance 
come too close to the moose, where perhaps a 
thicket shielded him from view, and where the 
moose had the leeward position. In this case 
he may have to content himself with a running 
shot — or merely with an opportunity to measure 
on the ground the long strides which an unseen 
but frightened moose makes when a favoring 
breeze has brought to his nostrils the dreaded 
human scent. A breaking stick under the hunter's 
foot may similarly bring to naught a stalk which 
has been in other respects most skillfully managed. 
It is this uncertainty, this necessity for keeping 
every sense and every nerve keenly on the alert, 
that makes still-hunting in the moose country 
the finest sport that America affords. 



114 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The tactics here described are much less resorted 
to where moose are plenty than in places where 
they are more rarely met/ Indeed, it is always 
in the places where the difficulties of the hunt are 
greatest that the most skillful hunters are found. 

When a yarding place of moose is found, indi- 
cated by browsing and peeling, the tracks crossing 
and recrossing, the hunter should at once seek the 
leeward side, and work his way into the yard by a 
system of zigzags, keeping a close watch to wind- 
ward as he advances. 

Much of the moose country of the remote 
Northwest is sparsely wooded, but in the portions 
of the moose's range which are most frequently 
visited by sportsmen the cover is comparatively 
thick. Under the latter conditions, if a moose is 
a hundred yards away he is usually concealed by 
trees and underbrush, and he is often invisible to 
the hunter at half this distance. In the summer 
and early autumn, to be sure, the moose is fre- 
quently seen in and about the water, at a distance 
of several hundred yards, but later, in the still- 
hunting season, the game is found among the 
thick growth of the ridges. The hunter, of course, 
prefers the more open woods, but he must take 
conditions as he finds them. For a fair marks- 
man, armed with a good rifle, a shot at two hundred 



STILL-HUNTING 115 

yards offers less difficulty than is usually met in 
still-hunting a moose which cannot be seen by the 
sportsman until he has come within fifty or seventy- 
five yards of his quarry. 

If the moose is successfully stalked — that is, 
if the hunter comes within view and gunshot 
without frightening the quarry away — still the 
hunter should not fire without getting a good look 
at the head. It has happened many times that 
the animal which is seen is not the one whose 
tracks the hunter has been following. The moose 
which is seen may be a yearling or a cow casually 
met by the big bull which made the tracks — and 
the yearling and the cow are entitled to protection. 

If the head is not in sight, and it is inexpedient 
for the hunter to change his position, he may 
make a low "zvahf* sound, and thus cause the 
moose to turn his head. If it is not the head you 
want perhaps the call will bring the desired head, 
and its bearer, into view. In any event, if the 
head suits you you must shoot quickly, for once 
under way a fleeing moose is not likely to stop 
until he has measured off a long reach of timber 
land, and if again pursued he is sure to be on his 
guard. 

A whitetail, when surprised, is quicker to start 



ii6 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

than a moose, but runs a much shorter distance. 
He may often be overtaken and shot after a run of 
two or three hundred yards. Occasionally a bull 
moose, if in the company of a cow, and with the 
duty of guarding the rear in a retreat, will stop 
after a few rods' run to find what the danger is 
that threatens. A bull alone will rarely do 
this. 

When, at the end of a long and exciting stalk, a 
patch of black seen through the trees seems to tell 
the hunter that his moose is in sight, nerves should 
be kept in subjection and vigilance redoubled. 
One rarely sees the whole figure of the animal at 
such a time. The first question then is, is it a 
moose .^ There may be other black objects in the 
woods. Is it a bull.? Don't shoot a cow, even if 
the law permits it. Are the antlers worth the 
shot.? Remember there is a bag limit, and a mis- 
take cannot be corrected after the bullet has left 
the muzzle of the rifle. 

A hunter once followed a promising moose track 
in soft fresh snow, when conditions were favorable 
for a somewhat rapid advance. For nearly two 
miles the moose traveled at a steady walk, stop- 
ping rarely to nibble a few mouthfuls of browse. 
Then the track of another bull, accompanied by a 
cow, crossed at right angles. The hunter kept the 



STILL-HUNTING "7 

straight course. Suddenly, less than a quarter 
of a mile beyond where the tracks crossed, off at 
one side, sixty yards away, could be seen the body 
of a moose, standing. A little inspection showed 
that it was a bull, and that the head would be a 
prize worth winning. A shot was fired, and the 
moose disappeared, while the hunter ran forward 
to be ready to fire again if he again came in sight 
of his victim. A few yards, and a second shot was 
fired; a few more, and a third. 

The next run forward brought Into view an 
unexpected spectacle. On the ground lay a bull 
dead; nineteen yards beyond stood another bull 
mortally wounded and unable to travel, while 
fifty yards farther off stood a cow, a puzzled 
spectator of the tragedy. The second bull dropped 
in his tracks without another shot. The cow 
stood for two or three minutes while a surprised 
and disgusted sportsman discussed the unusual 
event with an equally surprised guide. If there 
had been a single moose down, bearing on his 
head either pair of antlers, the sportsman would 
have been amply satisfied. 

The lesson which this episode teaches Is that the 
hunter should exercise all the care that is possible 
—it may still be insufficient. ... The legal bag 
limit was one bull moose. . . . 



Ii8 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The moose, like Fuzzy- Wuzzy, requires a good 
deal of punishment to make a post-mortem possible. 
And it was said of Fuzzy-Wuzzy, it may be re- 
called, that 

-'. . . Vs generally shammin' when 'e's dead." 

Belmore Browne' tells of an early autumn hunting 
trip in Alaska with A. J. Stone, in quest of speci- 
mens for the American Museum of Natural History. 
Two bulls were shot one morning, the pair falling 
about a mile apart. The party were engaged In 
dressing the smaller moose, intending afterward to 
take care of the larger one, when they were visited 
by a bull which appeared to be frightened. As 
they wished only two bulls they took little notice 
of the Intruder. 

"We had been skinning for only a few minutes 
when one of the Indians gave a grunt of surprise, 
and in an instant our noble red men were franti- 
cally shinning up the nearby spruces. Turning 
we saw the bull running toward us through a 
grassy glade, and we stood quietly watching 
him as he came on. He had seen the flurry ©n the 
knoll as the Indians scattered, but he seemed to 
be uncertain as to which course to follow, for he 
dropped into a walk and continued to approach un- 

' Outing, October, 1915. 



STILL-HUNTING 119 

til he was only thirty feet away, where he stopped 
and looked over us. The Indians were jabber- 
ing excitedly on their perches, just in front of 
him the dead bull lay, Stone and I were standing 
in plain view, and yet many seconds passed before 
he turned and left us." 

Later, on seeking the second moose, whose life 
was supposed to have ended several hours before, 
they found that he had disappeared. "There 
in the grass was the depression made by his great 
body, and numerous gashes in the earth showed 
where his antlers had torn up the sod. For a mo- 
ment we stood dumfounded, then the realization 
came to us that our friendly visitor was our van- 
ished prize!" The hunters hurriedly took their 
back track, and found and finished the wounded 
bull in a grove of alders. The moral of this tale 
is obvious: be sure your moose is dead. 



CHAPTER V 



CALLING THE MOOSE 



In some portions of the moose's range the close 
season is so adjusted as to include the period 
of the rut. This policy is encouraged by those 
who look with disfavor on calling as unsportsman- 
like, and by those who advocate a considerable 
restriction of the kill of moose. The number of 
moose killed by aid of calling no doubt constitutes 
a small minority of all which are shot. Still, 
calling affords excitement, and it affords the 
enjoyment of the woods in twilight hours when 
Nature is in one of her most delightful moods. 

The calling season extends, in general terms, from 
the middle of September to the middle of October. 
In northern latitudes, and at high elevations, it is 
a little later. The voice of neither bull nor cow 
is often heard at any other time. There are well- 
authenticated instances, however, of bulls respond- 
ing to the call long after the close of the rutting 
season — even as late as the end of November. 

120 



CALLING THE MOOSE 121 

The best bulls are likely to "come in" to the call 
in the first week or two of the season. After they 
have mated, the smaller specimens, and defeated 
suitors for female favors, will make bold to respond 
when they hear the cows' melodious confession of 

loneliness. 

With regard to the conditions surrounding the 
practice of calling there has been some conflict of 
opinion. Stone, in The Deer Family,' ridicules 
the claim that a bull moose will respond to a 
hunter's call in the belief that the sound is the 
call of a cow. But Mr. Stone's experience with 
the moose has been in the Northwest, where 
calling is almost unknown. Other writers de- 
scribe the "loud bellow of the bull" as he rushes 
through the woods in the rutting season, seeking 
female companionship, assuming that it is the 
bull which calls. These writers either lack experi- 
ence in the moose country, or have gained their 
experience on the Pacific side of the continent, 
where, as stated, calling is rarely practiced. 

The statement that moose in Alaska and western 
Canada will not respond to a call is untrue. Wil- 
fred H. Osgood of the United States Biological 
Survey relates how two bulls responded to a call 
sounded by Carl Rungius, the well-known sports- 

« Page 310. 



122 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

man and painter of big-game subjects, while the 
two gentlemen were engaged in a September 
hunting expedition in Alaska some years ago.^ 
And F. C. Selous tells of successful calling, of 
which he was an auditor and spectator, by Charles 
Sheldon and a half-breed guide in Yukon Territory 
of Canada September 25, 1904. The moose 
came within twenty-five yards, but was lost by 
the misfire of a cartridge.^ 

Sportsmen and guides who have been much in 
the moose ranges of Lower Canada and Maine 
agree that the bull is easily deceived in the rutting 
season by a skillful caller, and that it is the cow 
which calls, the bull's voice being rarely heard, 
except when, by a sort of grunt, he responds to a 
cow's call — or its imitation/ 

The usual time for calling is the dusk of a still 
moonlit September or October evening or morning, 
and the preferred place is the edge of a broad barren. 
Can Imagination picture a stage setting more 
beautiful in the eyes of one who loves the woods ! 

» National Geographic Magazine, July, 1909. 

^Recent Hunting Trips in British North America, pp. 227-232, Mr. 
Selous said the reply of the bull when responding to a call seemed to 
come from the throat, and reminded him "irresistibly of a human being 
in the throes of sea-sickness." 

* An old writer describes moose calling among the Micmac Indians of 
Acadia two hundred and fifty years ago, the voice of the female being 
imitated. — Denys, ubi supra, vol. ii., p. 423. 




o 

u 

I 

o 
O 



o 



CALLING THE MOOSE 123 

If the vicinity of the stand is too open, the call 
may fail owing to the bull's disinclination to trust 
himself far from shelter; and there must be cover 
enough to conceal the hunter and the caller, of 
course. Furthermore, no intelligent moose would 
respond to a call from a place so open that a cow 
obviously could not remain concealed in it. On 
the other hand, too much shelter will give the bull 
a chance to view and scent the situation at close 
quarters without offering opportunity for a shot. 
The immediate vicinity of the stand, however, 
should be free from brush or other obstructions 
more than four feet high, for the sportsman must 
have an opportunity to inspect his quarry and 
judge whether the head meets his approval. Some- 
times a bull, which has been coaxed forward 
for an hour or two by a skilled manipulator of 
the birchen horn, will stand for another hour 
partially in sight, but with his head concealed from 
view, while daylight, merging slowly into dark- 
ness, drops a curtain over the scene, and the hunt 
ends in disappointment. 

An ideal calling stand is perhaps a high flat 
rock, with a fringe of brush affording concealment 
for the hunter. Height is desirable, so that the call 
shall carry its maximum distance. Height, too, 
decreases the chance that the moose will get the 



124 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

scent of the man. Sometimes, indeed, the caller 
sounds his first invitation from a tree-top, the 
hunter remaining on the ground. 

The call is a low quavering tone, long drawn out 
— "Mwar!" or "Oo-oo-aw!" It is sometimes 
described as a whine. It begins in a high key and 
gradually descends an octave or two. The sound 
can be plainly heard two or three miles away, 
nature's wireless telegraph having a surprising 
radius when the air is not disturbed by wind. If 
it is necessary to repeat the call, the repetition is 
not given for ten or twenty minutes,^ and the 
second call is usually louder and more plaintive 
than the first. 

If a bull hears the invitation, and is inclined 
to accept, his hoarse grunt, "0-oh-ah!" audible 
across a mile or more of barren or forest, tells the 
waiting caller that the imitation of the cow's 
voice was excellently managed. 

After the bull's answer — and answers may 

s A writer in Blackwood's Magazine for August, 1908, seriously asserts 
that the noise of a steam siren heard at a distance resembles the call 
of the cow moose, and that moose in Canada have often been shot after 
having been lured to the seashore by the steam sirens of ships passing 
in the fog. If a bull moose will respond to a fog signal sounded every 
minute or so, thinking it is the voice of a female of his own species, 
the long interval between calls in the practice of most moose callers 
would seemingly be unnecessary. But the English sportsman and 
magazine writer was probably the unconscious victim of some Canadian 
humorist. 



CALLING THE MOOSE 125 

come from two or more — breaking of dry branches 
as the animal charges through the woods may afford 
further encouragement to the waiting hunter. 
But there are Hkely to be long pauses in the ap- 
proach of the moose. If two show a disposition 
to accept the invitation, the question of right 
of way may have to be decided. This is often 
done by the younger or weaker confessing his 
inferiority and leaving the field to the stronger. 
Occasionally the question of superiority is deter- 
mined by wager of battle. If it is, and the two 
belligerents are in view of the hunter, he will 
have a spectacle which would be worth a small 
fortune if transferred to a moving-picture film. 

If only one bull answers, or if one alone comes 
to the supposed trysting place, he is very likely 
to stop many minutes at a time to be sure a close 
approach is prudent. Often, if of an unusually 
suspicious turn of mind, he will completely circle 
the source of the sound, to make sure that no 
rivals are present, and that no danger is to be 
apprehended from any source. The freedom from 
wind is now the safeguard of the hunter, for if it 
were a windy night, the keen scent of the bull 
would detect the hunter, when the moose was in 
the lee of the hunter's position. To meet this 
maneuver of a crafty bull, when wind seems to 



126 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

favor the moose, the hunter will sometimes leave 
the caller, and going "down the wind" one hundred 
and fifty yards or so will stand ready to catch the 
bull off his guard while making his precautionary 
circle. 

A bull's ability to follow a straight course 
through the woods to the supposed amorous mate 
is a source of wonder to sportsmen. His approach 
can often be noted by his responsive grunts, and 
by the sound of his antlers vigorously beating 
dead limbs of trees, making the greatest possible 
noise, as if to show the female what a fine fellow 
he is, and to intimidate all possible rivals. If he 
is seen at some distance coming slowly across a 
bog or other open space, the sportsman may 
perhaps advance cautiously toward him, while the 
caller remains behind to entice the bull along by 
occasional low notes on the bark trumpet. 

The last twenty or thirty rods are likely to test 
the caller's skill severely. The responding bull 
is frequently suspicious or unduly deliberate, in 
which case he must be coaxed by various pleas 
and plaints, uttered in cooing tones, the caller 
at last, muffling the sound by holding the mouth 
of the horn close to the ground. When other 
expedients fail, the caller will sometimes "speak 
bull," or imitate the bull's voice, to provoke the 



CALLING THE MOOSE 127 

laggard to a fancied contest with another of his 
own sex. 

In some places calling from a canoe on a pond or 
deadwater is a favorite practice. The first call 
would be given at a distance from shore, to give 
the sound the widest possible diffusion. When a 
bull answers, the canoe is noiselessly moved into a 
favorable position, preferably, of course, keeping 
in the lee of the intended victim. If vocal calls 
at such a time fail to bring the bull close enough 
for a shot, various other noises to denote the 
presence of a cow are made on the water — as by 
striking the water regularly with a paddle to 
imitate the sound made by a cow in walking. 

Calling from a canoe may have unpleasant 
features. At best it is monotonous to sit in a 
canoe cramped and motionless for hours waiting 
for the answer which does not come. Such was 
the experience of a sportsman and a guide who 
returned to camp at two o'clock one morning 
after having spent the early evening hours in 
fruitless calling. After some questioning they 
admitted that they had both spent a large share of 
the night in the canoe in sound slumber. 

There is considerable diversity in the calls made 
by cows, and still greater diversity in the imita- 
tions and tactics employed by successful callers. 



128 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

"One veteran backwoodsman is very successful 
with a couple of guttural coughs or sobs, followed 
by a scalp-lifting, blood-curdling wail, the * spooki- 
est' sound that any mortal could possibly utter."^ 
The results of calling, furthermore, even with an 
expert to manage the horn, are by no means so 
much of a foregone conclusion as some critics of 
calling are inclined to assert. 

The value of the moon as an aid in hunting in 
the calling season cannot be overestimated. With- 
out it the evening twilight will often prove too 
short, in view of the dilatory tactics of a suspicious 
bull, to bring the hunt to its logical conclusion. 
If the calling stand is approached by land, and 
not by water, it is well to spend the night there, 
under a light shelter tent, but without a fire, of 
course. A few calls may be given in the evening 
if conditions are favorable, but the morning calls 
are more likely to yield results. Calling should 
begin half an hour or more before sunrise. The 
hunter then has the advantage of increasing, 
rather than diminishing light, and he has the 
further advantage that there is no fresh human 
track to be scented by an approaching moose. 

The horn, by means of which the call is sounded, 

* Arthur P. Silver, "Moose Hunting in Nova Scotia," Empire Review^ 
London, Nov., 1902. 



CALLING THE MOOSE 129 

is a cone of birch-bark, usually about sixteen inches 
long. It is three-quarters of an inch in diameter 
at the smaller end, and three and one half or four 
inches at the other.^ 

The author of Hahits, Haunts, and Anecdotes 
of the Moose (p. 99) tells of a hunter who with his 
guide pitched his tent "beside a giant boulder 
on one side of which a narrow open bog stretched 
away between wooded banks. ... As the sun 
was nearing the western horizon the guide climbed 
to the top of the boulder and sounded the call." 
Three bulls responded. 

"The guide came down from his perch on the 
rock, and stationed his employer and himself 
behind a smaller boulder over which it was possible 
to look while lying on the ground. . . . The bull 
that responded last was, when the sun went down, 
already quite near, and coming steadily along. 
. . . Another call and the bull's hoofs were heard 
beating the firm ground as he trotted up the slope 
toward the men. In full view of the hunters, 
and about ten yards from them, grew a bunch of 
sapling birches. There the moose paused and 

» Dr. Edward Breck in The Way of the Woods (N. Y., 1908), pp. 330- 
337. gives a good exposition of the art of calling, and a warm defense 
of calling as a sportsmanlike system of hunting moose. Suggestions for 
sportsmen who would learn to call their own moose are given by Douglas 
W. Clinch in Recreation for October, 19 10. 
9 



130 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

began a furious onslaught with his antlers. Having 
tired of that he turned toward the hunters, and 
going down on his knees plowed his horns along 
the ground some distance, tossing them, well 
loaded with vines, moss, and eajth. With a snort 
he shook these from his head, the dirt falling on 
and around the two men lying behind the rock." 

But the distance was evidently still too great to 
risk a shot. 

"Again the moose came on, and stood with his 
broadside toward them, not more than twelve 
feet from the muzzle of the rifle." 

They managed to kill their game with three 
shots, though the moose twice regained his feet 
after falling. 

When calling is resorted to by Russian hunters 
it is usual to "speak bull," the caller pretending 
to challenge his victim to combat with one of his 
own sex, instead of practicing the seductive wiles 
of the cow.^ 

Various devices are employed in America also 
to profit by the bull's combativeness in the season 
of the rut. 

"The pounding on a tree with a club by the 
Tahltan or Kaska Indians in northwest British 

« See pp. 327-329- 




5 ^ 



n 



© 



CALLING THE MOOSE 131 

Columbia (among the best moose hunters in 
America), or pounding the willows with a dry 
shoulder-blade of the animal, by the Liard River 
Indians," according to Stone, will often serve 
to call a bull.^ These sounds are intended to 
give a listening bull the impression that a fight 
is in progress, and he is eager to participate in the 
contest, in the hope of winning the prize for which 
the others are contending. But these seem to be 
chiefly the expedients of western Indians, and are 
rarely practiced by white hunters, or by the Indian 
hunters of the east. 

9 The Deer Family, p. 310, 



CHAPTER VI 

MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 

It would be interesting to study the means 
which have been employed in killing big game 
from prehistoric times down to the era of smokeless 
powder. Such a review of hunting methods would 
cast most interesting side lights on the whole 
subject of civilization and its development, and 
the development of inventive skill. 

In the early prehistoric period man was nearly 
as wild as the wild animals which he sought for 
food. The great Irish elk, and his contemporaries 
of the animal kingdom, probably paid little atten- 
tion to the hairy, skin-clad men, with stone axes 
and flint-tipped spears, whom they encountered. 
Men were few in number, and were doubtless 
disregarded by the larger animals, as deer dis- 
regard foxes in our woods today. If prehistoric 
men overcame the Irish elk, or other animals of 
such size and resourcefulness as the modern 

moose, it was accomplished by force of numbers, 

132 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 133 

when the animal was overtaken in the water, 
or was helpless in the snow, or was otherwise at a 
disadvantage. 

How early pitfalls, snares, and deadfalls were 
used we have no means of knowing. Primitive 
man needed such aids to supplement his primitive 
weapons, but whether he had sufficient ingenuity 
to construct them is another question. The evi- 
dences at hand do not show that he possessed 
genius of a very high order. 

The chase has ever been the school of the soldier. 
The art of attack and defense, whether employed 
in hunting or in warfare, whether exercised against 
wild animals or against invading fellow savages, 
has been a matter of vital importance to all primi- 
tive peoples, and the nations which have survived 
in the periodical readjustment of the map of the 
world have been those which had advanced 
farthest in the development of this art. 

In the Middle Ages kings and nobles knew no 
employment in times of war but the profession 
of arms, and little employment in time of peace 
but the sport of hunting. Among the American 
Indians, too, every able-bodied red man was a 
"brave" as soon as war was declared, and a 
hunter as soon as the last whiff of smoke from the 
pipe of peace drifted away among the tree-tops. 



134 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The Indian system of warfare, a system in which 
stealth and the ambuscade were the chief char- 
acteristics, was cultivated in his pursuit of deer 
and moose. The most skillful hunter, furthermore, 
was usually the best warrior when the game 
trail was abandoned for the warpath. 

Against the moose the Indian in the open woods 
found his bow and arrows comparatively ineffec- 
tive. Often, however, the moose would be found 
in the water, or would be driven into the water, 
and then from canoes the Indians could attack 
him in force at close quarters. It would have 
been a battle worth watching. There was usually 
a dead moose at the end of the contest. These 
encounters often resulted in a few wrecked canoes 
and broken Indian bones, no doubt, but these 
incidents would be forgotten at the festive "taba- 
gie" which would be held next day. 

Whole villages joined in these drives. The 
best canoemen among the savages would form a 
crescent by their canoes on some lake, each end of 
the line touching the shore. Others, with dogs, 
would circle a wide stretch of territory, and 
drive the game into the lake. The men in the 
canoes would be armed with various weapons, 
prepared to dispatch the animals as they sought 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 135 

to escape by the water from the noisy line of 
beaters.' 

Nicolas Perrot, writing more than two hundred 
years ago, tells of moose drives among the Crees 
of the Lake Superior region, in which dogs trained 
for the purpose would unassisted drive moose into 
the water while the Indians lay in wait in canoes 
to slaughter the game."" 

In many cases the game would be driven into a 
permanent enclosure which the Indians would con- 
struct on land. An interesting collection of animals 
would no doubt be gathered in as a result of a 
successful drive — moose, deer, and caribou often 
finding themselves companions in a common fate.^ 

Champlain describes one of these drives under- 
taken by the Huron Indians while on a foray into 
the Iroquois country in 161 5. The barriers 
leading to the small enclosure where the game was 
to be killed were eight or nine feet high and about 
fifteen hundred paces long on each side. The 
opening leading to the smaller enclosure, which 
may have been called the slaughter pen, was five 
feet wide. 



' Charlevoix, Jourval d'un Voyage dans VAmerique Septentrionale, in 
letter^dated March ii, 1721. 

' Memoir of the Manners, Customs, and Religion of the Savages of 
North America (Cleveland, 1911), vol. i., p. 108. 

3 Charlevoix, ubi supra. 



136 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

"When everything was ready, they started half 
an hour before dayhght to go into the woods about 
half a league from their enclosure, separated from 
one another eighty paces, each having two sticks, 
which they beat together, marching slowly in this 
order until they came to their enclosure. . . , 
When they reach the end of their triangle they 
begin to shout and to imitate wolves, which are 
plentiful, and which devour the deer." The drive 
was repeated every two days, and in thirty-eight 
days they captured one hundred and twenty 
deer."^ Snares were usually set at the narrowest 
part of the enclosure to guard against the possi- 
bility that the animals would break down the 
barrier and all escape. 

The Indian frequently employed the snare 
in his moose hunting. For this purpose he used 
a strong strand of moose hide, twisted, stretched, 
and dried, and then worked until sufficiently 
pliable. A slip-noose of this material was sus- 
pended where moose would be likely to pass — 
over a runway or near a spring. The line was 
run over a strong upper limb of a tree, and a 
heavy clog was attached to the end farthest from 
the noose. The animal's head once in the noose, 

* Voyages and Explorations of Samuel de Champlain, translated by 
A. N. Bourne (N. Y., 1906), vol. ii., pp. 91-93. See also New Englands 
Prospect, by William Wood (London, 1634), part ii., chap. xv. 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 137 

the strain would release the clog, which would 
fall, and the noose would be drawn taut. The 
animal would struggle, of course, but the end was 
never greatly in doubt. The moose's indifferent 
vision made this method of hunting easy, and 
many moose have been taken by Indians in this 
way.^ 

In winter, with the snow deep and crusted, the 
Indian on his snowshoes found the moose an easy 
victim, without other appliances than his bow and 
stone ax. This system of hunting was much more 
frequently practiced than driving. A story of 
hunting on the crust is told by Baron de Lahontan, 
a young Frenchman who spent some time among 
the Indians of Canada.^ His hunting trip was 
made in the winter of 1685-86, "forty leagues 
north of the River St. Lawrence." 
• "I spent the entire time hunting moose (ori- 

s Campbell Hardy describes a somewhat different method of snaring 
practiced by the white settlers in Nova Scotia more than sixty years 
ago. Snaring was illegal at the time. See Sporting Adventures in the 
New World (London, 1855), vol. i., pp. 180, 189. Campbell Hardy 
represents the best type of British sportsman. His books, though long 
out of print, have given pleasure to two generations of readers. His 
readers of the present day will be glad to know that "Lieut." Hardy, in 
the person of Maj.-Gen. Campbell Hardy, was still living in 1914 at 
Dover, Eng. His interest in sports is unabated. 

* Nouveaux Voyages dans VAmcrique Septentrionale (The Hague, 
1703)1 vol. i., pp. 72)-77- See also Jesuit Relations (1651-52), vol. 
xxxvii., pp. 195-197. 



138 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

gnaux) with the savages, whose language I am 
learning, as I have intimated to you several 
times. This hunting is performed on the snow, 
with snowshoes (raguettes), as you see drawn on 
this paper. These snowshoes are two feet and a 
half long and fourteen inches wide. . . . 

"We found five, ten, fifteen, or twenty orignaux 
in a body, which together or separately took 
flight, and sank in the snow up to the breast. 
If the snow was hard and packed, or if there was a 
crust on the surface caused by a season of damp- 
ness followed by frost, we came up with them after 
pursuing them a quarter of a league, but if the 
snow was soft or freshly fallen we were obliged to 
pursue them three or four leagues before we could 
capture them, unless the dogs should bring them 
to bay in places where the snow was deepest. 
When we overtook them we shot them with guns. 
Sometimes they become furious, and make an 
attack on the savages, who take refuge behind 
trees to protect themselves from their hoofs, with 
which they would trample them to death. As soon 
as they have been killed, new huts are made on the 
spot, with large fires in the center, while the slaves 
skin the animals and stretch the skins to dry. 

"One of the soldiers who accompanied me 
said that it was necessary to have blood consisting 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 139 



r«»we / ^HT' 7^ 



^0>> nt)^ 





if Ra(pettey 




BBAYEK 

toutef couleurr qu!ii f)v.H/fc,Q^ une 
ceuiturt<i£ cord'e.tantpar it 
(lAvanj: yuc /oar U tkrntrt 






Crust Hunting in the 17th Century 



140 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

of brandy, a body of brass, and eyes of glass to 
resist the great cold which we encountered. This 
was not without reason, for we were compelled 
to have fires all about us during the night. 

"As long as the meat of these animals lasts, the 
savages scarcely think of moving, but when it is 
consumed they make a new discovery and a similar 
slaughter. This hunting is continued until the 
snow and ice melt. ... As soon as the rivers 
are open they make canoes with the skins of moose, 
which they easily sew together, after which they 
cover the seams with clay in place of tar. This 
work lasts only three or four days. These canoes 
are used for returning home, with all the baggage. 

"This, monsieur, was my amusement for three 
months in the woods. We took sixty-six orignaux, 
and we could have slaughtered twice as many 
if we had been hunting for profit, that is to say, 
expressly for the skins. ... I have enjoyed 
hunting so much that I have resolved to do nothing 
else when I have leisure."^ 



' The accompanying plate, from Lahontan's book, illustrates the 
" bear's paw " snowshoes in use in his time. The upper picture seems to 
represent a forest, with a wapiti and two moose hock-deep in the snow. 
In the lower picture crust hunting is shown. The Indian, like the trees 
seems to be in summer garb, except for his snowshoes. 

A good narrative of a snowshoe hunt with Indians on the upper 
Ottawa — the snow five feet deep — is given by "a military chaplain" 
in Three Months among the Moose (Montreal, 1881), pp. 29-53. 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 141 

Among the older woodsmen of today are many 
who remember when such midwinter moose kiUing 
by white men, for the logging camps and frontier 
settlements, was very common. Nathan Moore, 
a famous character of the Maine woods a genera- 
tion ago, and a generation earlier still, for that 
matter, kept a record of the moose he had killed in 
seventy years of active woods life. At his death 
in 1906, at the age of eighty-eight years, his score 
stood at 276 moose. Fifty years ago the number 
of moose which one was permitted to kill in Maine 
was no more limited than the number of quarts 
of raspberries he might gather. 

Nathan Moore's practice, as related to me 
years ago by his son Chandler, was to set out from 
home with snowshoes, muzzle-loader, and pack, 
and look for game for the backwoods market. As 
soon as moose "sign" suggested caution, Nathan 
would take from his pack a suit of sheeting, which 
he would pull on over his ordinary clothing, and 
thus clad would advance carefully, the white 
clothing making him inconspicuous against the 
background of snow. A moose yard once found, 
a general cleanup of all the animals in it was an 
easy matter, for in the deep snows the larger hoofed 
animals are helpless. The game would be dressed 
and hung up, and nature would provide cold- 



142 THE AMERICA!^ MOOSE 

storage facilities until the hunter should return 
and sled the meat and hides to market. 



"Walking down" a moose as a method of 
hunting is on the border line of good sportsman- 
ship. It is on the wrong side of the border, how- 
ever, if the snow is deep or crusted, and the hunter 
is on snowshoes. A good tracking snow is needed, 
and more endurance on the part of the hunter 
than most men possess, for the victim must be 
given little time for rest or feeding. The moose 
will often turn back toward the point from which 
he started, and the hunt frequently ends near the 
place where the walking match began. 

A writer in Field and Stream for January, 1907, 
tells of walking down a large bull, in the Dead 
River country of Maine, following him from 10 
o'clock Sunday morning until 3 Friday afternoon. 
The two men carried blankets and food, and 
killed small game from time to time. They 
camped on the trail without shelter, covering 
every day, as they thought, about four miles an 
hour through most of the hours of daylight. 
The snow was four inches deep when the start 
was made, but rruJd weather reduced it materially. 
The last day of the chase the track showed signs 
of a bleeding foot. The moose was evidently in 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 143 

distress, and when finally the hunters came in 
sight of him he stood his ground while the two 
men circled about him less than fifty yards away. 
"A venturesome man could have killed him with a 
knife," says the narrator of the story, but in this 
he was probably mistaken. Not being venture- 
some he killed him with a .405 caliber bullet, at 
close range. One cannot but suspect that this 
moose had been suffering from a wound or other 
partial disability. With deeper snow the enter- 
prise would be relatively easier, but it could not be 
considered legitimate sport. 

*' Walking down" is sometimes the final incident 
of a hunt in which, for a consideration, a crafty 
guide guarantees a moose to an inexperienced 
sportsman. On one occasion, years ago, I was 
returning from the woods, and found myself in 
the general lounging room of the sole hotel in a 
frontier settlement awaiting the supper call. 
Some one announced the arrival of a tote team 
with a moose, and sportsmen and guides, with one 
accord, went out to inspect the prize. The head 
was nothing remarkable, and I was turning away 
when a guide nudged me, and said in an under- 
tone, "Looks like the Dawkins trick!" 

The name was not Dawkins, but for our present 
purpose this will serve as well as any. 



144 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The expression was new to me then, so I asked 
for an explanation. 

"You see that wounded leg with a bad swelling?" 
said the woodsman. "And you see there's no 
swelling where the other bullets hit? It takes 
hours for a wound to swell like that, and it won't 
swell after he's dead, that's sure. But the sport 
says they suddenly came on the moose and finished 
him in short order. If that's so, somebody else 
had given him that bullet in the leg the day before." 

"But what is the Dawkins trick?" I asked. 

"Oh, that's what they call it around here when a 
man cripples a moose so he can't travel, and then 
for a good price guarantees that a sportsman will 
get a moose or no pay. Of course you can't fool 
an experienced man in that way, but one who's 
never killed a moose may fall for it. When the 
bargain's made it's easy to take the sport back to 
where the cripple is waiting to be finished. And 
nine times out of ten the sport is kidded into think- 
ing that he fired every shot which ever touched 
the moose. The Dawkins boys were great at that 
game." 

The writer in Field and Stream tells of his guide 
"guaranteeing to bring me within easy shooting 
distance within eight days, or no pay." Perhaps 
he was a victim of the Dawkins trick, after all. 




Bringing in a Good Specimen 
Moose Shot by Carl Rungius on the Little Southwest Miramichi River, N. B. 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 145 

Of other hunting systems, obsolete or obsolescent, 
little need be said. Dogging is generally looked 
upon with legal and popular disfavor, though it is 
still the usual method of hunting the Scandinavian 
elk. The practical extinction of moose in Cape 
Breton is due to persistent use of dogs in hunting. 
A moose will run from a pack of dogs, even when 
at close quarters, but he will turn and face a single 
one, as soon as the dog bites him on the gambrel 
muscles.^ Thus held at bay the moose would 
fall an easy victim if the hunter quickly and cau- 
tiously followed up his advantage, but at sight of a 
man the moose is likely to take flight again 

Jacking,like dogging, crust hunting, and snaring, 
is generally forbidden by law, along with other 
systems of hunting which take advantage of the 
moose's weaknesses or physical limitations. Those 
who are interested in flash-light photography 
may find the jack a useful aid, but as an aid in 
killing game jacking is not considered "fair chase." 

In jacking the fact should be borne in mind that 
the light itself has no terrors for a moose or other 
animal. It is associated with none of the sources 
of danger which wild animals have learned to 
fear. A moose will look toward the jack, or 

* Pattillo, Moose Hunting, Salmon Fishing, and Other Sketches of 
Sport (London, 1902), p. 250. 



146 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

toward the lighted objects on shore, with equal 
indifference, except that his curiosity is aroused 
by the mystery of an unfamihar condition. If he 
is facing the jack, and a shot is fired, he will run 
from the noise, which he associates with the light, 
and the man with the jack need not fear an en- 
counter at close quarters. But if the moose is 
facing away from the jack, gazing at the trees 
on shore bathed in supernatural light, as he often 
does, and someone behind the jack fires a shot, 
the animal will strike for deep water, associating 
the gunshot with the weird illumination of the 
forest at an hour when usually all is dark. 

To the moose the strangely lighted woods are 
the source of danger, and impelled by fear he gets 
the reputation of having the temper of a wild- 
cat, combined with the courage of a grizzly bear. 
Moose have frightened sportsmen many times, and 
wrecked canoes in some cases, when blindly fleeing 
from an imaginary enemy on shore. They have 
seemed to be assuming the offensive, when in 
reality they were in the panic of precipitate flight. 
In these cases a cow moose is as dangerous as a 
bull.^ 

' See "One Season's Game- Bag with the Camera," by George Shiras, 
3d, in National Geographic Magazine, June, 1908, p. 415. See also 
"Hunting Big Game with Flashlight and Camera," by William L. 
Underwood, in Country Life in America for June, 19 10. Dr. Charles 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 147 

A different view is entertained by H. Hesketh- 
Prichard, an English sportsman, who describes 
moose jacking in the Canadian wilderness/^ But 
the Englishman's experience in the moose country 
is somewhat limited. When the jack is turned on 
the moose, according to Mr. Prichard, the creature 
"almost invariably charges, and, be it big bull, 
cow, or yearling, it has in four cases out of five 
to be shot in self-defense, as the animal, maddened 
by the glare, will rush right aboard the canoe." 
The present writer, however, is unaware that a 
single instance is recorded where a hunter has 
lost his life in such an encounter. 

Driving is still occasionally resorted to where 
the country is more or less open. Several hunters 
conceal themselves at positions two or three 
hundred yards apart in the more open land, while 
one or two beaters circle the thickets and, entering 
from the farther side, seek to drive the game toward 
the line of rifles. A drive may also be useful as a 
last resort when the snow is crusted, but not deep, 
and "still" hunting is out of the question. Driv- 
ing game of various sorts is common in Europe, 
but in this country it seems to be looked upon as a 

M. Whitney, in Country Life in America for June 1, 1912 ("Two Months 
with the Moose and Deer of New Brunswick"), gives valuable sugges- 
tions on the subject of game photography by daylight. 
^0 Blackwood's Magazine, Aug., 1908. 



148 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

lazy man's expedient. Most sportsmen prefer a 
more active participation in the hunt. 

A passive form of still-hunting, when dry leaves 
and the usual tangle of dead brush underfoot make 
it impossible to walk in quiet through the woods, 
is to sit on an open hardwood ridge and wait 
for the chance approach of a moose. The charms 
of an afternoon in Indian summer will afford ample 
reward, even if no animal larger than a squirrel 
is seen. A few hours of a sunny day in early 
winter may be similarly passed in keen enjoyment 
— if the first snow of the season has softened under 
the midday sun, and crusted in the chill air of a 
frosty night, leaving the snow as noisy as the dry 
leaves of October. 

To ears assailed daily and nightly through most 
of the year by the sounds of the cities, the solitude 
of the woods when the air is still is sure to be restful. 
Such dreams as pass through the mind as one sits 
— eyes wide open — waiting for the moose or deer, 
which perhaps never comes! The mossy stump 
of the old-growth pine yonder brings to mind the 
picture of a former generation toiling laboriously 
with their oxen to get the great sticks of pine to the 
river and to the market, leaving behind the spruce 
for the children and the grandchildren to cut when 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 149 

the supply of pine should be exhausted. The 
stump stands high above the ground, showing the 
depth of snow when the ancient wood-chopper 
on his snowshoes invaded the virgin forest. 

What scenes had that stump, and the tree of 
which it had been a part, witnessed! It had stood 
there since long before the Genoese navigator 
unrolled for mankind the map of a larger world. 
Still sound at the core, it will stand there long 
after the present generation has made way for 
the great-grandchildren of those who stripped the 
forests of the pine. 

As one idly dreams of the ebb and flow of the 
snow fields in the many years which have passed 
since the old pine was felled, of the moose which 
browsed there before the white men came, of the 
Indians who hunted them, of the wolf-pack and 
the bears which had attacked them when helpless 
in winter drifts, he may perhaps hear, far down 
the slope of the ridge, the breaking of a stick, 
followed by silence. What could have caused the 
stick to break.? There it is again, and nearer! 
How the blood tingles at the thought that it may 
be the long-awaited moose ! 

It could not have been a squirrel or a rabbit, 
and a man would not spend so many minutes in 
moving so short a distance. And that dark 



I50 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

object — It was not there before! All the senses, 
especially sight and hearing, are now centered in 
that shadow beyond the thicket. A few steps 
to one side would solve the question. But in the 
silence of the woods the rustling of a few leaves 
disturbed by the feet, or the crunching of frozen 
snow, would convey a message down the hill, just 
as the breaking sticks and rustling leaves have 
brought up the hill a message that some animal 
is abroad. The nervous tension is great, but 
impatience is repressed by the recollection of hours 
vainly spent in quest of game. 

The distance is hardly a hundred yards. 

Again the shadow moves. Will it perhaps move 
away, to be seen no more? If one stood up he 
could possibly see the outline of the dark object. 
Nerves have their limitations, and patience too, 
so the hunter carefully pulls back the hammer of 
his rifle, at the same time pressing the trigger so 
that the mysterious dark object shall not hear the 
click of the sear. The hammer at full-cock, and 
the trigger released to hold it ready for a shot, the 
hunter rises. Above the dark shadow in the 
thicket the broad antler of a moose is plainly 
visible ! It moves up and down as its owner nibbles 
browse from the striped maple. . . . 

At the end of a sudden outburst of noise and 



MISCELLANEOUS HUNTING METHODS 151 

confusion there is a change of scene: the closing 
picture shows a moose lying prone, and a hunter 
standing close at hand looking down on the 
accomplishment of his task, and the realization of 
his hopes. Patience, steadiness of eye and hand, 
and alertness of mind have many times turned 
failure into success, in hunting as in the other 
enterprises of a lifetime. 



CHAPTER VII 

ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 

The choice of a weapon for moose hunting — 
caliber, powder charge, and weight of bullet — has 
long been a subject of controversy, and the possi- 
bility of ending the controversy becomes more 
remote with every Improvement In firearms and 
ammunition which is placed on the market. 

The .30-30 was the first widely-used hunting 
rifle loaded with smokeless powder and giving 
higher velocity than the black-powder guns. It is 
powerful enough for deer, but Inadequate in moose 
hunting, as the many wounded moose which have 
escaped testify. Now In their turn the auto- 
matics are enjoying a season of popularity, but 
they too lack the power of the magazine rifles 
using the .405, or even the .45-70 h. v. cartridge. 
This criticism is not directed against the auto- 
matics as such, but only against the inadequate 
ammunition with which they are loaded, and then 

only when it is proposed to use them In hunting 

152 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT I53 

moose. Some of the automatics, like the .30-30's, 
are good deer guns, but at present they have their 
Hmitations. 

Another class of rifles now warmly recommended 
by zealous partisans have a caliber of .25 or less, 
their advocates claiming that their high velocity 
makes up for deficiency in other respects. High 
velocity, of course, gives flat trajectory, which is 
important in long-range shots where it is difficult 
to judge the distance accurately. But there are 
few long-range shots in moose hunting. It is safe 
to say that a considerable majority of the moose 
killed in the still-hunting season are shot at less 
than one hundred yards' distance. The moose is a 
creature of the woods, and few objects can be seen 
in the woods at a greater distance than one hundred 
yards, whereas the caribou on the barrens is often 
shot at several times this distance. 

The small-bore advocates claim that a 120- 
grain bullet, of .2S-inch caliber or so, driven with a 
muzzle velocity of 3000 feet a second, will do the 
work of a 300-grain bullet of .40-caliber which 
leaves the muzzle at 2100 feet a second. But men 
who have tested the theory on big game have come 
home disappointed. A certain high-power rifle 
of .22-caliber, with a 70-grain bullet and velocity 
of 2900 feet, has also been recommended for moose 



154 Tt^E AMERICAN MOOSE 

hunting — by men who never used It for that pur- 
pose. Much depends on the "mushroom'' formed 
when the bullet strikes, and it is expecting too 
much of a bullet of 70 grains, or 120 grains, no 
matter at what velocity it is driven, to expect it to 
form as effective a mushroom as a bullet of three 
times the weight. Increased weight and breadth 
of front of a bullet, even if there is some sacrifice 
of velocity, will increase the "shock" incident to 
the hit, and it is the shock that stops the animal. 
It is a common error to claim that because a 
certain cartridge has killed a moose the cartridge 
is of course adequate for this class of hunting. 
The .30-30 and many other rifles have been 
recommended for moose hunting, following this 
reasoning, ignoring the many wounded animals 
which have been lost. And it is idle to add the 
common argument, "If you hit 'em right it'll 
stop 'em" — as much as to say that the gun will 
do its work; the only trouble is with the man 
behind it. You would of course prefer to strike 
in the fore quarter, but you will have to be content 
with a different hit if the fore quarter is behind a 
heavy tree, or if the animal is running away and 
offers only his hind quarters as a mark. "Don't 
send a boy to do a man's work, " to quote a proverb 
common on the New England farms. 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 155 

In Newfoundland a number of years ago, while 
looking for ptarmigan with a .22-caliber rifle I 
came across two caribou. They were on the 
opposite side of a deep ravine, and about seventy 
yards distant. Our supply of fresh meat was low, 
and ptarmigan were scarce, so I pointed the 
slender gun barrel in the direction of the smaller 
caribou's vital organs and pressed the trigger. 
Both animals pricked up their ears and looked 
about as if uncertain from what direction the 
feeble report had come. I slipped in a fresh car- 
tridge and fired again. They appeared to be 
nervous, and nothing more. I was repenting that 
I had fired at all, and was in doubt what course to 
pursue, when my caribou turned around. As he 
did so his legs gave way, and he slid down the 
side of the ravine in a lifeless heap. Two hollow- 
point bullets, each weighing 35 grains and pro- 
pelled by ^}4 grains of black powder, had killed a 
yearling caribou — but I am not prepared to defend 
the .22-caliber rifle as a fit weapon for caribou 
hunting. 

A leading firearm manufacturing company rec- 
ommends a cartridge the bullet of which stops 
inside the skin of the animal, because it "delivers 
its whole energy," calling attention to the fact 
that if the bullet passes through and beyond the 



156 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

animal a portion of the energy is wasted. But 
such waste of energy, or excess of power, will do 
no harm. 

The wound at the point of emergence of a soft- 
nosed bullet is much greater than that at the 
point of entrance. If the bullet stops inside the 
skin, however, and the ground is bare and tracking 
difficult, the external flow of blood from a mortally 
wounded moose may be insufficient to enable the 
hunter to follow him effectively. The bullet 
should have a soft point, to insure mushrooming, 
but it should have ample power of penetration 
as well. At best many soft-nosed bullets, fired 
from even the most powerful rifles, will stop inside 
the skin of the moose. 

Some experienced moose hunters who have used 
the present United States Government cartridge 
carrying the "spitzer" full-jacketed bullet weighing 
172 (or 180) grains, recommend it highly. The 
bullet does not mushroom, but in nearly every 
case it turns over when it strikes, making a very 
effective wound. Its muzzle velocity is about 2600 
feet. In some sections, however, the use of full- 
jacketed bullets in hunting is forbidden by law. 

A rifle of less power than the so-called .30-40, 
in respect either to velocity or weight of lead, 
should be rejected as a weapon for moose hunting. 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 157 

A still more powerful load, if the hunter does not 
mind the recoil, would be better. 

Rifles constructed on the bolt principle have 
their advocates. On two occasions, however, the 
author has taken bolt rifles, of different types, 
on November hunting trips, and in both cases 
found his rifle temporarily disabled when melted 
snow had had an opportunity to freeze under the 
bolt, thus crippling the firing mechanism. Ham- 
mer guns have never played him such a trick, and 
most of his moose-hunting trips have been made 
in the season of November snows. On one occa- 
sion the spring of the tubular magazine of a 
hammer rifle was for a few minutes obstructed 
by ice, but the firing mechanism was not affected, 
and the weapon was still in condition for use as a 
single-loader. 

Most firearm salesmen in the cities are unsafe 
advisers in the selection of rifles for this class of 
sport. Their knowledge of ballistics is indifferent, 
and their experience in moose hunting is usually 
zero. A novice should seek advice from an ex- 
perienced moose hunter, who does not look to the 
advertisements of the manufacturers for his facts. 

Practice at the target, especially in sharply 
contested competitive matches, serves in a measure 



158 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

as a sort of inoculation against "buck fever." 
If a sportsman cannot find time and opportunity 
for target practice before going into the game 
country he must expect either to lose game which 
he would gladly kill, or else to accept the aid of his 
guide's rifle. Many guides expect to give this 
assistance; some even persist in shooting when 
they know that their aid in making a kill is not 
desired or needed. To guard against this latter 
fault the author for many years past has required 
his guide to carry a .22-caliber rifle or .28-gauge 
shotgun — it keeps the guide out of mischief. If 
a grouse or rabbit should show himself, and there 
would seem to be no danger of scaring bigger 
game, it is easy to exchange weapons for a moment. 
Assuming that the sportsman has a rifle, wisely 
selected and carefully tested at the targets, and a 
moose which measures up to requirements offers 
himself as a sacrifice — what then.'* Whether the 
moose is standing or running, the hunter will do 
well to aim each shot as carefully as if there was 
not another cartridge within twenty miles. This 
does not mean to let the moose get away; it means 
to seek to make the first shot effective, and not 
to rely on the second, and third, and fourth, that 
may be pumped out of the magazine. One, or 
two, or three shots carefully but quickly aimed — 



/IRMS AND EQUIPMENT 159 

the series continuing as long as the moose remains 
in sight and on his feet — will usually be more 
effective than double the number fired hastily 
with the idea that out of a larger number more 
bullets will be likely to take effect. 

Magazine rifles have led to carelessness in aiming, 
and automatic rifles have a tendency to increase 
this carelessness still further. Van Dyke, the 
author of The Still Hunter, writes: "From the 
day I got a repeater and learned how to keep a 
string of empty shells whizzing over my head, my 
shooting has become steadily worse." This is 
not an argument against improved firearms, but 
against carelessness. The magazine is a con- 
venient means of carrying ammunition, and in- 
cidentally it has become a convenient means of 
wasting it. 

Even if a skilled marksman, the moose hunter 
should not leave camp looking for game with less 
than ten or a dozen cartridges. Moose are some- 
times finished with a single shot, but not often. 
After the first cartridge has been fired it may be a 
stern chase, with a quick succession of running 
shots. In such a running battle many of the 
bullets are pretty sure to find their billets in the 
trees, for as the moose runs the hunter's glimpses 
of him are usually few and brief until he dis- 



i6o THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

appears. In many cases a moose will take a lot 
of punishment and still travel. Judge Caton said 
that moose have been known to run half a mile 
with a bullet through the heart, but he wrote in 
the days of black-powder rifles. A hunter, after 
such a stern chase, his ten or a dozen cartridges 
gone, will probably resolve that next time on leav- 
ing camp he will drop a packet of half a dozen 
extra cartridges into the dinner pack, as an anchor 
to windward. They may not be needed, but they 
will be highly prized if they are. 

Opinions differ regarding the point at which 
to aim, as well as regarding calibers and loads. 
Sir Henry Pottinger, an experienced English sports- 
man, whose specialty in hunting was the Scandi- 
navian elk, said: *'There is no better weapon for 
elk than a .450 or .500 express, and no deadlier 
shot than through the base of the broad neck."^ 
Others advise aiming for the brain. But unless 
one is pretty sure of his marksmanship, he would 
do better to aim for the shoulder. The shoulder 
offers a much larger mark. A soft-nosed bullet 
intended for the brain may easily damage the scalp 
of a fine head; and a bullet which should enter 
behind the ear, or shatter a cervical vertebra, 
may easily miss the animal altogether. 

' Encyclopedia of Sport and Games (London, 191 1), vol. ii., p. 179. 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT i6l 

Clothing and Footwear. — Clothing in the still- 
hunting season should be warm, noiseless, and 
adapted to resist moisture. Corduroy, canvas, 
and leather should be avoided. Many a moose 
has been lost because of the slight scratching sound, 
which the wearer scarcely hears, caused by cordu- 
roy or canvas brushing against the dry underbrush 
in the thickets into which the hunter is led by the 
fresh tracks of a much-coveted moose. Moleskin, 
if all-wool, is excellent for knee-breeches, and 
all-wool Mackinaw is the most popular material 
for coats. 

Many hunters favor gray as a color, because the 
backgrounds are grayer in the season of stalking 
than in that of calling. Brighter colors than 
gray, however, as a safeguard against the care- 
lessness of excitable sportsmen, are not seriously 
objectionable.^ Some sportsmen object to black 
clothing, asserting that moose associate black 
with the color of the bear, an animal dreaded on 
account of his inclination to prey upon the calves 
of the moose species. 

"The chief end of man," according to the 
catechism of the woods, is the end where his feet 
are. With a pair of helpless feet the clearest 

''See p. 90. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba big-game hunters are 
required by law to wear white clothing. See p. 50. 



i62 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

head and steadiest hand are usually about as 
helpless. But footwear is a subject of more dis- 
agreement among woodsmen than clothing. The 
lumberman's "shoepacks" are favored by many 
for still-hunting, and are excellent when the 
ground is bare. But the inexperienced wearer 
will find the bottoms altogether too slippery for 
comfortable use on up-grades when the ground is 
covered with two or three inches of snow. 

For the season of snow a good outfit for the 
feet consists of heavy woven leggings, such as wood- 
choppers wear, worn outside the ordinary stock- 
ings, and boots of rubber and leather. The rubber 
of the boots comes nearly up to the ankle, and the 
leather six or eight inches higher. But the rubber 
soles should be deeply checked and ribbed. When 
worn smooth on the bottoms these boots in wet 
snow are as slippery as shoepacks. Similar boots, 
but of smaller size and without the leggings, are 
good for the season of bare ground. 

In the calling season the winter outfit of thick 
woven leggings and heavy waterproof boots will 
be appreciated. As one stands, almost motion- 
less, hour after hour in the morning or evening 
twilight of late September, eating occasionally a 
handful of frozen blueberries, he will need his 
warmest clothing and footgear. The calling stand 




A Guide and a Trophy 

Showing Shoepacks and Leggings of the Eastern Woodsmen 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 163 

is frequently on low moist ground, the air is cold 
and damp, and exercise is out of the question. 

For a moose-hunting trip in November a pair 
of woolen mittens, with a separate place provided 
for the trigger finger, will be found desirable. 
They will occasionally be equally useful in the 
calling season. 

Minor Accessories. — The smaller deer are gener- 
ally taken out of the woods with their jackets on. 
The size of the moose, however, and the difficulties 
of transportation, have resulted in many entire 
carcasses being left for the bear and other carniv- 
orcB to devour at their leisure, the head and hide 
of the moose alone being taken from the woods, or 
perhaps only the head. If the hunter is provided 
with from six to ten yards of cheesecloth, and 
several strong burlap bags, he will be prepared 
to protect the meat from flies, if the weather is 
warm, and will be able to take out of the woods 
the hind quarters and perhaps other portions of the 
meat. By this means he will avoid the odium 
that attaches to the "head and hide hunter." 
Blowflies as late as October are likely to lay their 
eggs on freshly-killed moose meat. I have seen 
in the second week in October crawling evidences 
that such eggs had hatched on dressed moose 



1 64 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

meat which had been killed less than three days 
before by a woodsman who had neglected to 
include cheesecloth in his outfit. 

In the calling season a thermos bottle, to supply 
a drink of hot tea at the calling stand without 
building a fire, will be appreciated. Some hunters 
seek to supply warmth by carrying a flask of liquor. 
But hot tea will kill more moose than cold whisky. 
"If you are one of those fellows who will use rum 
when you're calling," said a sportsman I once 
met, — and it sounded as if it was the beginning of a 
temperance lecture, — "if you will use rum, take a 
thermos bottle with hot tom-and-jerry in it. I 
do!" A second thermos bottle, with hot tea for 
breakfast, will be useful if one tents at the calling 
stand, a mile or two from the main camp, to be 
ready for the daylight call. 

Among minor articles which may well be in- 
cluded in the kit is a six-foot steel tape. It will 
save guesswork when a pair of antlers is to be 
measured, or other dimensions taken. The lack 
of such a measure is responsible for many of the 
absurd exaggerations with respect to spread of 
antlers and height at withers which have intruded 
into the literature of the moose, and which have 
brought into question the veracity of the writers. 
Thoreau's umbrella (!) and the boat's painter. 



ARMS AND EQUIPMENT 163 

with which he measured a cow moose which his 
companion killed, yielded results which the author 
of The Maine Woods was compelled in candor 
to repudiate after he had reduced them to feet 
and inches. 

A thermometer in November will aid in forming 
a judgment whether the rain is likely to turn to 
snow, and whether the snow is likely to be crusted 
after a thaw. 

In Nova Scotia and some portions of New 
Brunswick, as well as in the remote Northwest, 
there are many broad barrens, across or alongside 
which the moose travel from cover to cover. 
When hunting in such places a field glass will be 
found useful. 

The equipment for a moose hunting trip, aside 
from the articles here enumerated, will not differ 
essentially from that with which the deer hunter 
in the early fall would provide himself. 



CHAPTER VIII 



HEADS AND HORNS 



If one would look for the most ancient existing 
antlers of the American moose — antlers acquired 
by the hunter and not by the geologist — he would 
probably find them in England. Queen Elizabeth 
made a large collection of trophies of the chase 
from all parts of her dominion. It was displayed 
in the "Horn Room," near the Great Hall of 
Hampton Court Palace, and was noted as one of the 
finest collections of game heads in the kingdom, 
where such collections have always been highly 
prized. Officials in the transatlantic colonies 
were charged with the duty of furnishing for the 
royal collection such specimens as the American 
forests could supply, and five sets of moose antlers 
obtained in America at that time, and given places 
in the collection, may be seen by the present-day 
visitor to Hampton Court. 

After Henry VIII. 's great palace ceased to be a 
royal residence, the Horn Room collection was 



i66 



HEADS AND HORNS 167 

scattered through the different halls and apart- 
ments of the vast structure. The moose antlers 
were given the places of honor on the wall of the 
Great Hall, over the dais on which a succession 
of British sovereigns dined on the occasion of 
state banquets. They are in a distinguished 
company of trophies, representing the aristocracy 
of English game animals of three hundred years 
ago. 

European collectors, distrusting the skill of 
taxidermists, often resort to the wood carvers 
when having the horns of animals mounted for 
exhibition. Most of the specimens now displayed 
in European collections consist of the horns 
with a portion of the skull attached — in many cases 
the entire skull — the head-skin being thrown away. 
The older and choicer specimens of antlers are 
often attached to finely carved wooden heads, the 
deep color of which preserves the appearance 
of the real scalp. The wood carvers of Europe 
in past generations have had many times to repro- 
duce the head of the red deer, and rarely the head 
of the European elk. Accordingly I was not 
surprised a few years ago to see that the five sets 
of moose antlers in the Great Hall at Hampton 
Court were mounted on carved heads of Cervus 
■elaphuSy the European kinsman of the American 



i68 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

wapiti. It was not the first time in European 
collections that I had seen a similar hybridization 
in preparing trophies for exhibition. 

The old pensioner, for years custodian of the 
Great Hall, would not believe that such liberties 
had been taken with natural history in the royal 
collection of horns. 

"Did you ever see an American moose?'* I 
asked. 

"No, sir." 

"Or a European elk?" 

"No, sir." 

I showed him a photograph of a moose head. 

"Upon my word!" said the old man. "I 
wouldn't have believed it!" 

I am almost sorry that I called his attention to 
the case of nature-faking in the group of heads 
which were under his care. To shake his faith 
in the complete authenticity of every specimen in 
the royal collection was too closely akin to under- 
mining his faith in the inviolability of the British 
Constitution. 

Without a ladder, and an assistant, I could not 
measure the Hampton Court antlers, but recently 
I have had measurements made by representatives 
of Rowland Ward, Limited (the London taxider- 
mists), with the following results: 



HEADS AND HORNS 



169 



Greatest 


Circumference 


Breadth 


Points 


width 


jabove burr 


oj palm 




59 


7 


10 


II + IO 


48H . 


7K . 


.9 


9 + 8 


47 


7 


10 


10+9 


42K . 


6 


8 


6+8 


38 

A 1 


7 
. 1 r 


4K . 
^1 _ ^..^^ 


6+6 

_^ TT 



According to these figures the antlers at Hamp- 
ton Court Palace include some very fair specimens, 
but they are inferior to many taken in recent 
years in the territory which constituted the British 
colonies of America in the time of Queen Elizabeth. 
If they were fairly representative of the good heads 
of their time, it is to be assumed that the deteriora- 
tion by reason of subsequent hunting has been 
local rather than general. 

It is a noticeable fact that while standards are 
constantly being advanced in the breeding of 
horses and cattle by the selection of the best strains 
of blood, there is likely to be deterioration with 
respect to wild game. The reason is not far to 
seek. Laws which permit killing only the older 
bulls, in the case of moose, together with the 
sportsman's natural desire to secure specimens 
having superior antlers, have left the breeding to 
the inferior members of the species. 

This deterioration in some quarters is making 
marked progress. In Europe it has been observed 
for centuries; in America it is only of compara- 



170 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

tively recent date that the increased interest in 
moose hunting as a sport has brought it to atten- 
tion. At the great International Sportsmen's 
Exhibition in Vienna in 19 lo there was sharp 
contrast between the choicest red deer heads of the 
present day and the fine heads brought for exhi- 
bition from the palaces and royal hunting lodges 
of various countries, where they had decorated the 
walls since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
Indeed, for the purposes of prize awards, no heads 
of earlier date than 1848 were considered. 

In Maine the rapid increase in the number of 
moose during the last decade of the nineteenth 
century, a result of effective legal protection 
begun in 1883, has been followed by a noticeable 
decrease in the size of antlers, owing to the in- 
creased activity on the part of sportsmen. Maine 
is suffering from being easy of access, and from 
being separated by broad areas of farm land from 
other and wilder portions of the moose's range. 
Thus new blood cannot easily be introduced, as 
needed to maintain a high standard in the physical 
characteristics of the animals. 

On the forehead of the bull calf one can feel two 
knobs underneath the skin. These knobs become 
a pair of spikes six or eight inches long in the 



HEADS AND HORNS 171 

yearling. As a two-year-old the same moose 
would have two points on a side, and he would be 
known as a "crotch-horn." The three-year-old 
usually has three points on a side, and a small 
palm appears, while in the four-year-old the 
antlers assume the adult form, but of small size. 
After the moose is three years old the age can be 
only approximately estimated from the antlers. 
At about seven years of age, the bull is in his 
prime. His antlers have now attained their full 
development. 

The antlers of the crotch-horn are not dropped 
until about April. Each subsequent winter the 
antlers are shed earlier, and by the time the bull 
reaches his prime they are dropped by the last of 
December or early in January. One often wonders 
why he so rarely finds in the woods an antler shed 
in some previous season. Those which are found 
are usually mutilated, having been gnawed by the 
mischievous woods mice or by porcupines. Many, 
too, are dropped in swampy country, where the 
weather causes early decay. ^ 

The new antlers begin to grow late in April. 
At first the growth is very slow, but as summer 
advances it becomes exceedingly rapid. The 

' Hon. George Shiras, 3d, in the National Geographic Magazine for 
May, 1912, pp. 450-454, 460-463, describes a rich harvest of moose 
antlers which he found on the ground in the Kenai Peninsula. 



172 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

growth is completed in about three months. Dur- 
ing this time the drain on the vitaHty of the bull is 
great. The "velvet," the soft skin which carries 
the blood-vessels needed in the rapid growth of the 
antlers, finally dries and peels off, leaving the 
horns white and bare.'' The peeling of the velvet 
is assisted by the wearer of the newly-grown 
antlers. Woodsmen in the moose country are 
familiar with the frequent sight of saplings worn 
bare of bark by bulls anxious to rid their new 
fighting weapons of the ragged disfiguring skin.^ 

Early in September, when the rutting season is 
about to begin, the last of the velvet has generally 
been rubbed off, and the moose's antlers, as yet 
undamaged by contests with rivals, are turning 
a deeper brown. His coat is now unusually 
dark and glossy, and he stalks through the woods 
in the pride of his greatest strength as if clad in a 
wedding garment. Contests between bull moose 
take place only in the brief season of the rut. 

' A valuable service for zoology will be performed by one who, having 
access to a captive adult bull moose, will make a series of photographs 
at weekly intervals, showing the animal's horns during the spring and 
summer months while the horns are growing. An even greater, though 
more diflScult, service would be performed if a series were made showing 
the same animal in the fall annually from calfhood to old age. 

3 The maturity of the antlers seems to be attained somewhat later at 
a high elevation. Mr. Shiras, writing of moose in the southern portion 
of the Yellowstone National Park, nearly eight thousand feet above 
the sea, says: "As late as Oct. i not half the bull moose had their 
antlers free of velvet." (National Geographic Magazine, July, 1913.) 




Antlers in the Velvet 
This moose was shot by Carl Rungius neai North Pole River, N. B., September 21, 
1907. He was a very old bull, and came in answer to a call. The antlers 
spread only forty-two inches. The drawing opposite page 193 shows the 
antlers after the velvet was removed. 



HEADS AND HORNS 173 

Single prongs of the antlers are often broken in 
these mad onslaughts, but the main beam is 
sufficiently elastic to withstand any sort of shock 
without fracture. 

Moose live to be eighteen or twenty years of 
age. After the bull has passed his prime the 
antlers are usually of lighter color, and, owing to 
the lower vitality, are dwarfed and imperfect, 
though the body may continue to increase some- 
what in size. Accordingly one should not expect 
a record-breaking head if he kills a moose of 
record-breaking stature. The coat of the moose, 
too, loses its glossy brilliancy in old age, and the 
color becomes a brownish gray. 

The antlers are closely associated physiologically 
with the season of mating. The horns attain their 
full growth in the summer, and then the velvet is 
rubbed off, leaving the prongs bare and sharp, 
just as the rutting season begins. Without his 
antlers the bull in his prime would enjoy little 
advantage over the three-year-old or the infirm 
old-timer with stunted horns. But with massive 
sharp-pointed fighting weapons, the most perfect 
specimen is able to drive off weaker antagonists 
— and thus, in the process of natural selection, the 
blood of the next generation should show greater 



174 T'/ZE AMERICAN MOOSE 

vigor than if the physical weakHngs enjoyed the 
favors of the females on equal terms. The rutting 
season over, however, the antlers are soon dropped 
as a useless incumbrance. 

It is probable that the character of the available 
food at the time when the antlers are growing 
affects the season's growth to a greater extent 
than is generally supposed. It is certain that in a 
given district the average size of antlers is much 
greater some years than others. A Russian 
writer claims that food rich in phosphate of lime 
and in tannin tends to promote the fullest develop- 
ment of antlers. Knowing this fact those in charge 
of elk in Russian preserves and parks regulate the 
food of the animals accordingly. If they have pro- 
duced any record-breaking antlers by this means 
the fact is not recorded. It is said too that the 
quantity and quality of the water furnished the elk 
are important factors in antler-building. 
;' European writers who have had opportunity to 
study moose in restricted preserves, observing the 
same specimens year after year, assert that individ- 
ual peculiarities are seen in successive years in the 
cast antlers of certain moose, observable in spite of 
the yearly increase in size and number of points. 

The possession of antlers by cow moose is 
exceedingly rare, but is not altogether unknown. 



HEADS AND HORNS 175 

Edward R. Alston writes: "Mr. Dresser informs 
me that in New Brunswick he once examined in the 
flesh a female moose with well-developed bifur- 
cated antlers."'' In most cases where females 
of the deer family have been found with antlers 
they have been barren. The presence of antlers 
in the case of fertile female caribou, however, is 
very frequent. 

Moose antlers are much less frequently found 
interlocked than those of the common deer. The 
best known example of interlocked horns is pre- 
served in the National Collection of Heads and 
Horns in New York. The spread of one pair is 
6gJ/2 inches, while the other measures 62 inches. 
An Indian hunter on the Kenai Peninsula was 
attracted to the battlefield of the big animals by 
the noise of the combat. When he arrived on the 
scene one moose had a broken neck, and the 
other was vainly struggling to free himself from 
the unwelcome incumbrance. The Indian killed 
the survivor, but was unable to separate the 
antlers.^ 

Dr. Josselyn, who told of moose horns the tips 

4 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1879, p. 298. Lewis 
Lloyd {Scandinavian Adventures, vol. ii., p. 95) says that at the castle of 
Aschaffenburg, in Germany, there is the horn-cranium of a female elk 
having eight points. 

i Harper's Weekly, Jan. 15, 1910. 



176 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

of which were sometimes "two fathom asunder/' 
was not the first, nor the last, to exaggerate in this 
respect. Lahontan, writing from Canada under 
date of July 8, 1686, tells of the "great flat horns" 
of rorignalf "which weigh as much as 300 pounds, 
and even as much as 400, if we may believe those 
who have seen them."^ If the young baron had 
seen the horns himself possibly he would have 
added a few pounds. At any rate, he saw the 
Falls of Niagara, and tells us that "r^ Saut a sept 
ou huit cens piez de hauteur'' — an exaggeration of 
more than 400 per cent. 

As recently as 1890, in The Big Game of North 
America, — the introduction to which was written 
by Judge Caton, — a writer mentions a western 
Wyoming moose-head having a spread of 102 
inches. "The largest pair of antlers I ever saw," 
he tells us, "was taken from the head of a moose 
that was killed in the Teton Basin, near the head of 
Snake River. . . . They measured, from tip to 
tip, 8^ feet."^ It is a pity that trophies like this 
are never preserved. How they would dwarf 
the largest heads that any of us ever saw, or ever 
will see, even in the greatest museums! 

There is no ground for disputing the dimensions 

^ Nouveaux Voyages dans VAnUrique Septentrionale (The Hague, 
1703), vol. i., p. 74. 
7 Page 24. 






a 




o 




r? 


t/) 


o 


n 


ta 


o 


M 


^ 


"3 



•o 


f^ 


OJ 


•3 


lU 


V 


w 




Oi 




CO 


S 


tJ 


2 



4) .2 



HEADS AND HORNS 177 

of large antlers in the museums, or of those which 
are in private possession and available for inspec- 
tion. Heads which are described as exceeding 
these dimensions, but which are not to be found 
if one wishes to subject them to the tape-measure 
test, may be dismissed as apocryphal. If one 
found a diamond excelling the Koh-i-noor he 
would not throw it into an ash barrel, and if one 
found moose antlers spreading eight or ten feet 
he would hardly leave them for the hedgehogs to 
devour in the woods. 

In view of the wide variety observable in antler 
formation and development, and the "freak'* ant- 
lers everywhere found, it is impossible to define 
certain types as characteristic of certain localities 
without admitting exceptions in such numbers 
that the types are of little value or importance. 

The largest and finest moose-heads which the 
world has seen have come from the Kenai Peninsula 
of Alaska. In general characteristics the Alaska 
antlers are massive and broadly palmate, with a 
large number of points. They are often marked 
by a secondary palmation of the brow prongs at 
right angles to the main palmation. 

The moose-head showing the widest spread of 
antlers yet secured was taken on the Kenai Penin- 



178 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

sula in 1899. This head is now in the Field 
Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The 
spread is 78>^ inches, and it has 34 points. The 
maximum breadth of palmation is 18 inches, and 
the palmation in places is 2^ inches in thickness. 
With the dry skull the antlers weigh about 92 
pounds.* It is said this head was brought into 
Kenai by an Indian, who claimed to have found the 
moose drowned in Kenai River. At that time the 
spread measured 81 inches.' The curator of 
zoology at the museum states that the Indian 
was arrested by a game warden, who perhaps 
distrusted the story of the accidental death of 
the moose, and that the head was confiscated. It 
found its way into the hands of a taxidermist in 
Chicago, who sold it to the museum. 

A finer pair of moose antlers, but with less 
spread, was shot by A. S. Reed, an Englishman, on 
the Kenai Peninsula in 1900. This head is now 
in the Reed-McMillan collection, in the possession 
of the New York Zoological Society. Its superior- 
ity lies in its broader palmation and greater 
number of points. When killed, Mr. Reed's 

' See Life Histories of Northern Animals, by Ernest Thompson Seton 
(N. Y., 1909), vol. i., pp. 158, 161. Seventh Report N. Y. State Forest, 
Fish, and Game Commission, 1901, p. 233. 

9 Big-Game Shooting in Alaska, by Cap . Charles R. E. Radclyflfe 
(London, 1904), p. 60. 





^^^K^^^M ^'l^^^lB^^^ 



The Reed-McMillan Antlers 
(Reproduced by Permission of the New York Zoological Society) 



HE/IDS AND HORNS 



179 



moose had a spread of 76^2 inches, but in drying 
the antlers shrank to 75 inches. The right antler 
has 19 points, with palm 18 inches in width, and 
beam 9 inches in circumference above the burr. 
The left antler has 23 points, 2i5^ inches maximum 
palmation, and loX-inch circumference of beam.'° 




The Niedieck Antlers 



A head from the Kenai Peninsula, given to the 
New York Zoological Society in 191 1 by Clarence 
H. Mackay, spreads y6 inches. This head has 
13 + 15 points, and the palmation reaches 21^ 
inches in width. The circumference of beam 
above burr is 10 inches. 

At the International Sportsmen's Exhibition 
in Vienna in 19 10 the first prize for moose-heads 

" The National Collection of Heads and Horns (N. Y., 1907), p. 48. 
The so-called "National Collection" belongs to the New York Zoo- 
logical Society, and is displayed in the offices of the Society at the 
Bronx Park, but it is not open to the public. 



i8o THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

was given for one from the Kenai Peninsula shot 
by Paul Niedieck Oct. 9, 1906. The spread of 
these antlers is given by Rowland Ward as 77}^ 
inches, but this was probably the measurement 
before the skull and antlers had dried. This head 
was exhibited at the Thirteenth German Exhibi- 
tion of Antlers, held in Berlin in January, 1907. 
It was then described as having a spread of 193 
centimeters, or j6 inches, and weighing, with 
skull_(but without lower jaw), yj pounds." H. 
J.^Elwes, writing in Country Life (London, July 
30, 1910), gives the spread as 74 inches, and this 
agrees with my own measurement, made in Vienna. 
There are 17+16 points." 

In Yukon Territory of Canada two exceptionally 
good moose-heads were secured by a party of 
Peel River Indians in the autumn of 1912. The 
Indians were hunting mountain sheep in the 
Canadian Rockies, at the head of Peel River, 
within 100 miles of the Arctic Circle, and were 
above the timber line, when they encountered the 
moose. Jarvis Mitchell, one of the Indians, 
killed the larger one with his rifle. The antlers 

"Die Jagd, Berlin, Feb. 3, 1907. Niedieck describes the capture of 
the moose in his book Kreuzfahrten im Beringmeer (Berlin, 1907), p. 
219. 

' ' The best European elk-head shown at Vienna measured 53 inches in 
breadth of spread, and had 23 points. See Chap. xvii. 



HEADS AND HORNS i8i 

spread 74^ inches when freshly killed, and they 
have 10+ 1 1 points. The palmation is io>^ 
inches wide and the circumference of beam is 8^ 
inches. This is beHeved to be the widest spread 
to which Yukon can lay claim. The other moose, 




From the Canadian Rockies 

killed at the same time by another of the Indians, 
had massive antlers spreading 63 inches, with 
18 + 15 points, and with blades 16 inches wide.'^ 
These heads are in the possession of William 
Norton, a taxidermist, now living in San Francisco, 
but formerly of Dawson. A. P. Engelhardt, Terri- 

'J The present owner gave the weight of this second pair of antlers, 
with skull, including the lower jaw, as ioi}4 pounds. He said the 
Indians hauled the heads to Dawson on a toboggan, a distance of three 
hundred miles. In their opinion the moose had gone up the mountain 
to escape from wolves. 



i82 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

torial Secretary of Yukon, writes that he has seen 
the heads, and that the statements regarding them 
are known by him to be correct. 

Frederick C. Selous shot a moose on the north 
fork of Macmillan River, in Yukon, Sept. i8, 
1904, with antlers spreading 6j inches. The 
number of points was 17+21 ; palmation 20 inches; 
circumference of beam 8>^ inches. Mr. Selous 
had been a successful hunter of all kinds of African 
game, but he called this "the finest hunting trophy 
that has ever fallen to my rifle." 

British Columbia's best moose-head, according 
to information furnished by the Provincial Game 
Warden, is perhaps one measuring 65^^ inches, 
secured by R. R. McCutcheon of Iowa. A better 
pair of antlers was found in northeastern British 
Columbia In the autumn of 1914 by S. Prescott 
Fay of Boston. The two horns had lain on the 
ground since the previous winter, a mile or more 
apart, and the second was picked up a week after 
the first was found. When held side by side, In 
about the normal position, the spread measured 
6j inches. They have 12+13 points. A. S. 
Reed, whose collection of heads is now In New 
York, Is said to have killed a moose in the Casslar 
country some years ago with antlers measuring 
more than 70 Inches, but the head was left in 







CO 



^ 



HEADS AND HORNS 



183 



a cabin for the winter, and was destroyed with the 
burning of the cabin. Many good heads are found 
in the northern part of the Province, but in the 
Rocky Mountain region of southern British Colum- 
bia and the neighboring section of the United 





Cast Antlers Found in British Coltunbia 



States moose are few in number and the heads 
very inferior. 

Alberta has produced a number of moose-heads 
with antlers spreading about 65 inches. Benjamin 
Lawton, Chief Game Guardian, writes that a 
head with a spread of 66 inches, taken in the 
northern part of the Province, is the widest of which 
he has any knowledge. 

The best Manitoba moose-head, in the opinion 
of the Chief Game Guardian of the Province, is 
one measuring 61 inches taken in 191 1 sixty or 



1 84 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



seventy miles north of Winnipeg. It has 18 + 20 
points and the maximum palmation is 15 inches. 
It is now the property of E. W. Darby, official 
taxidermist to the Manitoba Government. '"* 




Minnesota's Best Head 



In Minnesota a symmetrical 64-inch head fell 
to the rifle of H. C. Percival, a Canadian, in the 
late '90s. This is probably the Minnesota record. 
The moose was killed in St. Louis County. 

Ontario's best moose-head was taken at Round 

*■» Ernest Thompson Seton's Life Histories of Northern Animals 
(vol. i., p. 155), quoting Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game, mentions 
a 65-inch Manitoba head belonging to Otho Shaw. Early editions of 
Ward's Records described this head as having 24 inches' breadth of 
palm and 13 + 14 points, but in the latest edition of the work the head 
is not mentioned. The authenticity of the data seems to be in doubt. 




New Brunswick's V/idest Spread 
(See page 187) 




Manitoba's Best Head 



HEADS AND HORNS 



185 



Lake, in the Temagami Forest Reserve, late in 
October, 19 10, by M. A. Kennedy of Toronto. 
Mr. Kennedy writes that the present spread 
of the antlers is 71 inches. When freshly killed 
the spread was 72 inches. The head has 11 + 12 
points, the greatest breadth of palmation is 143^ 




A 71-Inch Head from Ontario 



inches, and the circumference of beam 8X inches. 
Mr. Kennedy shot the moose from a canoe, at 
about 200 yards' distance. Nine bullets from a 
.303 Lee-Enfield rifle took effect in the neck and 
shoulders before the animal fell. 

An Ontario moose-head was described and 
illustrated in Recreation for August, 1902, the 
antlers of which spread 6y inches. There were 
16+17 points, and the palmation reached 19 
inches in breadth. The moose was shot on the 



1 86 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Demoine River, a tributary of the Ottawa, by 
Batiste Seymo, an Indian. The head belonged 
to W. H. Rowley of Ottawa. 

Quebec's record for spread of antlers is believed 
to be 6gy2 inches. These antlers have 14+13 
points, the maximum palmation is 12 inches, and 
the circumference of beam 8)4 inches. The head 
was secured by the late Lewis Mills Gibb of Brook- 
lyn, N. Y., Oct. 10, 1906, and is now in possession 
of his widow at Bay Shore, Long Island. The 
moose was killed in the Caughnawana Club pre- 
serve in Pontiac County, near the Ontario border. 
This was Mr. Gibb's first moose, and it was 
secured in less than twenty-four hours after his 
hunt began. 

The best Quebec head described by Ward 
spread, when thoroughly dry, 62)4 inches. It has 
I4-^I3 points, the breadth of palm is 14 inches, 
and the circumference of beam 7^ inches. This 
head was secured by Col. John Caswell, a Massa- 
chusetts sportsman, October 12, 1903. He was 
hunting on the Patapedia lakes, Rimouski County, 
and the moose was brought from a distance of 
about two miles by a call in the early morning. 
Two shots from a .375 Holland double rifle, loaded 
with cordite, efi^ected the capture. 

The Maine record for spread is said to be 62 



HEADS AND HORNS 187 

inches. The taxidermist's record of the time 
when the moose was killed, and the place, together 
with the number of points and other data, was 
destroyed in the great fire which visited Bangor in 
191 1. Rowland Ward describes 61 American 
moose-heads in his Records of Big Game. These 
include two from Maine with spread between 
57 and 58 inches. Maine taxidermists, when 
requested recently by the Game Commissioners 
to furnish information of the best heads which had 
passed through their hands, reported mounting 
a number of heads having a spread of from 58 
to 60 inches. 

New Brunswick's best head in respect to spread 
was secured by Dr. Walter L. Munro of Providence, 
R. I., on the Nepisguit River, Oct. 12, 1907. The 
breadth was 68)4 inches when killed. It has 
7+10 points, and 16 inches* width of palmation, 
with exceptionally heavy beams. 

Antlers measuring 6y inches in breadth were 
secured in New Brunswick in October, 1898, by 
F. H. Cook of Leominster, Mass. They have 
shrunk by the drying of antlers and skull to 65 X 
inches. They have 13 + 10 points. 

Stephen Decatur, now of Kittery Point, Me., 
killed a moose on the Serpentine branch of the 
Tobique River, N. B., Sept. ii, 1897, whose antlers 



1 88 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

spread 66}i inches. Mr. Decatur writes that the 
present spread is 653^ inches. The number of 
points is 13 + 12; greatest palmation 13^^ inches. 
A pair of moose antlers presented to Edward 




F. H. Cook's New Brtmswick Moose-Head 



VII., when, as Prince of Wales, he visited Canada 
in i860, was long considered as having the widest 
spread recorded for New Brunswick, Maine, or 
Nova Scotia. The antlers were taken in the 
Canaan River country of New Brunswick by Sir 
Harry Burrard, and measured 62 inches. ^^ The 
weight of antlers and dried skull was 56 pounds.'^ 

^s With Rod and Gun in New England and the Maritime Provinces 
(Boston, 1897), p. 266. 

'^ Dr. A. Leith Adams, Field and Forest Rambles (London, 1873), p. 
89. 



HEADS AND HORNS 189 

Several noteworthy moose-heads have been 
subjects of dispute, New Brunswick and Maine 
both claiming them. This was the case with a 
head formerly in the possession of the late Albert 
Bierstadt. It spread 64^^ inches, and had more 
than 30 points. This moose was killed in 1880 near 
the international boundary, but probably on the 
New Brunswick side.^^ The Province has occasion- 
ally failed to receive the credit to which it was 
entitled for a notable head, by reason of the 
fact that the sportsman shipped his prize to a 
foreign taxidermist for mounting. 

Nova Scotia, like Maine, will perhaps lose 
credit for its best moose-heads, owing to lack of 
authentic data regarding trophies secured many 
years ago. The Chief Game Commissioner of the 
Province has recently instituted inquiries with a 
view to securing such information as can now be 
obtained on this subject. He writes that an 
Indian called Lone Cloud in the fall of 1903 secured 
a head in Guysboro County spreading 6'},}^. inches, 
with 34 points. 

A head with antlers spreading 59 inches, and 
with 34 points, was taken in Guysboro County 
in 19 10 by L. G. Ferguson of Westville. This 

^1 See Seventh Report N. Y. State Forest, Fish, and Game Commission , 
p. 232. 



190 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



head is now in possession of the Chief Game 
Commissioner. 

The chief points to consider in comparing moose 
antlers are (i) breadth of spread, (2) number of 
prongs, (3) breadth of palmation, (4) circumference 




Measurement of Moose Antlers 

of beam. In the accompanying diagram spread is 
measured from prong No. 4 on the right antler, to 
prong No. 15 on the left. An inch or two would 
be added if the measurement were made from No. 
4 to No. 17, but diagonal measurement is manifestly 
unfair. These antlers have ten points on the 
right side and eleven on the left. Sportsmen are 
sometimes tempted to count two points at 10, 
and another at the angle just below 10; they would 
perhaps credit also two points at 20, and another 



HEADS AND HORNS 191 

between 18 and 19. These may, however, be 
dismissed as places where independent prongs 
might have developed, but unfortunately did not. 
Maximum palmation may be measured at either 
A or B. " Circumference of beam " is the minimum 
circumference of the heavier beam. 

The usual standards of comparison in the case 
of moose antlers are very insufficient. Many 
sportsmen consider spread the only test of quality; 
some merely count points. But spread has in some 
instances been increased by splitting the skull with 
a saw, and mounting the two halves at a fictitious 
angle. Furthermore, Hornaday's definition of a 
"point" as "any pointed projection of sufficient 
length that a watch can hang upon it without falling 
off" leaves much to be desired, in view of the variety 
of shapes which prongs assume. A better single test 
would be weight, but this is impracticable when the 
antlers are not removed from the skull, or when a 
head is to be judged after being mounted. A test, 
sometimes resorted to in Germany in the case of 
smaller animals, of displacement in water, would be 
excellent, save for the difficulty of ascertaining the 
displacement with precision, in the case of antlers 
so large as those of the American moose.'^ 

'* "Up to this time, moose antlers have been ranked by their spread 
alone, but I think that is a mistake. In my opinion, area of palmation 
should be regarded a; the leading feature, for it is that which is most 



192 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

A combined system of scoring, in which credit 
would be given for various quahties, would have 
many advantages. An imaginary normal head 
might be scored as follows : 

Points oj 
merit 

Spread (transverse, not diagonal), inches . . . -47 

Number of points . . . . . . . .21 

Width of palmation, inches, right 8>^ + left 9^^ . . . l8 

Circumference of beam (doubled), inches, 6J^ x 2 . . . 13 

99 

Breadth of blade is important, as well as breadth 
of spread. Breadth of blade and circumference 
of beam are in most cases indicative of weight and 
mass, points which in this country are popularly 
ignored. 

I was in a New Brunswick camp one day when a 
sportsman came in and reported killing a moose 
whose antlers spread fifty-four inches. 

"How many points?" I asked. 

He had not taken the trouble to count. 

"Did they have good blades?" 

They had not been measured. 

A few days later I took the trail near which the 
moose, waiting for the tote team, was lying. The 

impressive in moose antlers — far more so than wide spread and narrow 
'shovel.'" — Homaday, The National Collection of Heads and Horns, 
p. 48. But area of palmation is not easily measured. 




^ 9 
3 .2 



Xi f 



I 



HEADS AND HORNS i93 

memoranda in my notebook make it possible for 
me now to "score" the head, as follows: 

Spread . . . . • 54 

Points ^7 

Palmation 7 + 8 ^5 

Beam sK x 2 "^ 

The antlers were comparatively light and thin, 
and the spread extraordinary under the circum- 
stances. If brought into comparison with normal 
heads, with credit given for symmetry, this head 
would suffer still more in the scoring. 

John B. Osborn of Boston killed a moose in 
Maine in 1892 the present spread of whose antlers 
is only 39 inches. But in all respects except 
spread it would rate as superior to either of the 
heads above described. It may be scored as 
follows : 

Spread 39 

Points (13"+ 11) 24 

Palmation 13K + 13 ^^^ 

Beam yK" x 2 ^4^ 

104 

The broad blades and strong beams of these 
antlers, as well as the number of points, certainly 
entitle them to more consideration than is measured 
by the spread. 



13 



194 T'/ZE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Scoring by such a system as here suggested may 
be done by anyone, anyAvhere, and the relative 
merits of moose-heads be thus Intelligently com- 
pared. For the purposes of an exhibition, in which 
judges were to make an award, it might be well to 
add not exceeding some stated number of points, 
say ten, for symmetry and general appearance. 
Thus the "freak" head would lose some of the 
unfair advantage which it sometimes enjoys. 

Some candid taxidermists assert that the scalp, 
or head-skin, of a moose or caribou cannot be so 
cured and mounted that one can safely guarantee 
that it will not crack — chiefly around the muzzle. 
It is certain that many mounted moose-heads have 
thus become unsightly. This trouble is likely to 
be caused by the skin repeatedly becoming moist, 
and afterward drying. Salt In the skin, or clay or 
plaster In the manikin, tend to draw moisture from 
the atmosphere, and thus atmospheric changes 
will cause the scalp to stretch and shrink, the skin 
finally breaking away from the manikin, and 
cracking. Hence the use of salt, clay, and plaster 
should be avoided. For the same reason the 
skin should be attached to the manikin by a 
medium In which water is not used as a solvent. 

The skill of European taxidermists in devising 



HEADS AND HORNS 195 

novel and artistic ways in which to mount trophies 
of the chase is far beyond that of the commercial 
taxidermists in America. Antlers in Europe are 
not infrequently mounted on carved wooden 
heads — and it is easy to find skilled wood-carvers, 
artists in their line, in most European countries. 
Such carvings are more attractive than inferior 
or damaged taxidermy, and the owner need 
apprehend no deterioration — for a few hundred 
years at least. Much more frequently European 
antlers are mounted with the entire skull, but 
without the scalp, or with a section of the frontal 
bone connecting the horns, on an elaborately 
carved shield. The skull is blanched, and on it is 
usually painted the date of killing, with the 
owner's monogram — surmounted in most cases 
by a coronet of some sort, for the European 
big-game hunter usually belongs to the landed 
aristocracy. 

Few animals have heads so lacking in grace 
and beauty as the moose. The sacrifice of beauty, 
accordingly, will not be great if the sportsman 
accepts a suggestion from German or Austrian 
source and has his moose antlers mounted on a 
standard such as is often employed in mounting 
the antlers of the red deer in the Continental 
countries. The trophy thus becomes a decorative 



196 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 




A Hungarian Design 



HEADS AND HORNS 197 

article of furniture appropriate for the hall, while 
avoiding the hazard of a cracked scalp with its 
disfiguring blemish. 

A new era in American taxidermy will dawn 
with the completion of the "African Hall" lately- 
planned by Carl E. Akeley for the American 
Museum of Natural History in New York.'^ 
This hall will offer a valuable object lesson in 
artistic taxidermy. Meanwhile the studio at the 
museum, in which the specimens are being prepared, 
is serving as a school for training workmen in the 
new methods which have been developed to 
insure permanence and lifelike effect. Mr. Akeley 
brings to his work the skill of the sculptor, the 
naturalist, and the sportsman, as well as that of the 
practical taxidermist, and he brings enthusiasm 
at the same time. He has no secret processes, 
but welcomes all who are seeking information with 
a view to promoting the advancement of the art. 

Mr. Akeley believes in bark tanning. A moose 
scalp thus cured, scraped down to uniform thick- 
ness, and free from acid and salt, will be soft and 
pliable, and sufficiently tough. "Akeley's stand- 
ard manikin" is constructed of wire cloth, and a 
composition made of paper, glue, whiting, and 
linseed oil. These are the component parts of 

" See the American Museum Journal, May, 1914. 



198 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

papier-mache and putty, and the composition has 
the stabiHty of the former with the plastic quality 
of the latter. The modeling of the manikin will 
of course be a severe test of the taxidermist's 
skill. The skin should be applied to the manikin 
dry, and should be held in place by means of 
shellac, or by some cement which is free from 
water. Such work requires time and care, and is 
bound to be more expensive than when the ordinary 
commercial methods are employed, but it is 
permanent, and if the modeling is skillfully done it 
is lifelike. Heads thus mounted represent the 
farthest advance in taxidermy yet reached. This 
process is new, and its details have not been 
published. Mr. Akeley is not engaged in com- 
mercial work, but he will willingly answer any 
questions from sportsmen or taxidermists. 

There are various minor by-products of a suc- 
cessful moose-hunting trip, in addition to the 
familiar and cumbersome inkstands, made from 
the forefeet of the animal. Napkin rings may be 
made from the main beam of a stray antler which 
is not to be mounted with the head for a wall 
decoration. The beam should not measure less 
than 6}4 inches in circumference if it is to be used 
in this way. Such a napkin ring, which has been 



HEADS AND HORNS 



199 



on my table daily for several years past, has often 
called to mind an episode of the New Brunswick 
woods. I had shot a bull with a spread of 55 inches, 
and on returning the next season to the place 
where the tragedy was enacted discovered, two or 
three hundred yards away, the "house'* of a bear 
trap, which had been set the previous year. For 




Moosehorn Napkin Ring 



bait the trapper had used the head of a moose 
which had been found dead in that vicinity. 
These abandoned antlers were blanched on one 
side by the elements, and were of moderate di- 
mensions, but they were sufficiently heavy to make 
several napkin rings. The horn was still as hard 
as ever, and took a high polish on the inner surface. 
A section of a beam which is too small for a 
napkin ring may be made into a paper-weight, or it 
may be used as the holder for a small glass ink-well. 



200 THE AMERICAN MOOSE * 

Single horns, or portions of them, may be made 
into wall brackets or candelabra. An antler 
which has been dropped by its wearer in the 
woods is usually found whitened by exposure to 
the weather. The dark color may be restored by 
the use of a strong solution of permanganate of 
potash, applied with a brush. This solution has 
a purplish color. It is not a pigment, however, 




Dewclaw Bones of Moose 

but merely an oxidizing agent, and restores to the 
horn the original brownish color 

Two excellent paper cutters are carried by every 
moose in each fore leg. They are the dewclaw 
bones, and lie side by side just above the dew- 
claws. They are usually seven or eight inches long. 
They are easily removed, dried, cleaned, and 
polished. If necessary the cutting side may be 
filed down to a little sharper edge. The dewclaw 
bones in the hind legs are too short to be of use. 
A handle made from a prong of a moose or deer 
horn may be attached to the paper cutter. The 



HEADS AND HORNS 201 

best handles, however, are provided by a deposit 
of silver on the bone itself. The silver is nearly 
3^6 of an inch thick, and conforms to the shape 
of the bone. It covers about a third of its length, 
at the larger end. The silver is deposited by an 
electroplating process, but few electroplaters or 
silver workers know the secret of making such 
handles. 

Like others of the deer family, but unlike domes- 
tic cattle, the hair grows upward from the nose of 
the moose — a fact which should be borne in mind 
when brushing the dust from a mounted specimen. 
The hide of the moose is much inferior to either 
buckskin or caribou skin when tanned. It is 
porous and easily stretched. When made up into 
moccasins woodsmen say that it begins to leak 
twenty-four hours before it begins to rain.^° Moose 
skins are valueless for rugs owing to the brittleness 
of the hair.'' 

»o Oil-tanned moose skin— the oil, however, being extracted in finish- 
ing—is very pliable, and a strand a quarter of an inch in width will 
support a tensile strain of 250 pounds. It is easily soiled, and is not 
adapted even for house moccasins. The gambier or bark process of 
tanning yields a skin with less elasticity, and much less tensile strength, 
but the skin makes good moccasins for house wear. A moose hide 
which will weigh when green, with the hair, fifty pounds, will weigh 
when tanned about twelve pounds. 

" If the head of a moose is to be mounted it should be removed from 
the body without many hours' delay, or else the entrails should be drawn. 
If the carcass is left undrawn overnight the scalp is likely to be worthless 
in the taxidermist's hands, and the flesh will be unfit for food. 



202 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Moose-hock moccasins, tanned with the hair 
on, are often used in the woods in winter. The 
skin is peeled down without being cut open, and 
sewed up at the lower end. The hock joint forms 
the heel. They are seamless, except at the toe, 
and are excellent for snowshoeing. 

Until the European trader came the Indian 
was dependent on his own resources for supplying 
all the articles required to meet his simple needs. 
Various animals contributed to furnish him materi- 
als for clothing, weapons, and domestic utensils, 
but the moose furnished more than any of the 
others. Bernard R. Ross, long in the service of 
the Hudson's Bay Company in the Mackenzie 
River district of the Canadian Northwest, has 
given an account of the animals which are useful 
from an economic point of view to the various 
Indian tribes of that region.^^ 

" The uses to which the various parts of the moose 
are put are many," he says. "The hide supplies 
parchment, leather, lines, and cords; the sinews 
yield thread and glue; the horns serve for handles 
to knives and awls, as well as to make spoons of; 
the shank bones are employed as tools to dress 
leather with; and with a particular portion of the 

"* Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, vol. vi. (l86l), pp. 433, 437. 



HEADS AND HORNS 203 

hair, when dyed, the Indian women embroider 
garments." 

The leather is serviceable for tents, clothing, 
dog harness, etc. "The capotes, gowns, firebags, 
mittens, moccasins, and trousers made of it," 
writes Mr. Ross, "are often richly ornamented 
with quills and beads, and when new look very 
neat and becoming. . . . To obtain thread the 
fibers of the sinews are separated and twisted into 
the required sizes. The moose furnishes the best 
quality of this article, which is used by the natives 
to sew both leather and cloth, to make rabbit 
snares, and to weave into fishing nets. Sinews 
can be boiled down into an excellent glue or size." 



CHAPTER IX 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 



It would be difficult to measure the service 
performed by the moose and other species of deer 
in the era of exploration and colonization in 
furnishing food for those who left the markets far 
behind, and sought to accomplish the conquest 
of the wilderness. The era of colonization past, 
however, venison becomes for most merely a con- 
venient dish to vary an otherwise ample bill of 
fare. But venison is much more than a conveni- 
ence in an emergency. It is adapted for use as 
food in a wide variety of ways, and is highly 
esteemed, when properly cooked, whether broiled, 
roasted, stewed, or otherwise prepared for the 
table. 

According to the dictionaries, venison is the flesh 

of any animals of the deer kind. Moose meat, 

and the flesh of the Virginia deer, the caribou, and 

the elk, are alike venison. Each of these has 

its partisans among epicures, some giving one the 

204 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 205 

highest place, others favoring another. Moose 
venison resembles beef in appearance, and also in 
flavor, more closely than the other sorts of game 
do, while the venison of the smaller species of 
deer is more frequently likened to mutton. All 
have a flavor unlike that of domestic meat, how- 
ever. 

Venison deserves a higher place, with respect to 
dietetic value, than it commonly receives. "It is 
especially adapted to invalids, who require a 
nourishing yet easily digested food."^ A writer 
in the Scientific American several years ago gave 
an interesting table showing the relative digesti- 
bility of various foods. In this table grilled veni- 
son takes, with boiled rice and boiled tripe, the 
first place, the three dishes requiring only one hour 
for complete digestion. Boiled chicken, on the 
other hand, requires two hours for digestion, roast 
turkey, duck, and goose from two to 2^ hours, 
grilled beefsteak and mutton three hours, roast 
chicken four hours, and grilled or roasted veal five 
hours. ^ In view of these facts it is to be regretted 
that so often moose venison is wasted, owing to the 
difficulty of transporting it from the remote place 

' Prof. David E. Lantz, in Bulletin of the Biological Survey of the 
Department of Agriculture, issued Dec. 31, 1910, p. 14. 
" Scientific American, July 17, 1909. 



2o6 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

in the woods where the hunt ended to the tables 
of the hunter and his friends hundreds of miles 
away. 

It has been said that the same moose never 
furnishes a good head and good steaks, but this 
statement is not true. The meat of even an old 
moose, if in good condition in other respects, is 
excellent in flavor, and if kept for a sufficient time 
at a moderate temperature it will be tender. In 
the rutting season, and immediately after, the 
venison of any animal is not at its best, though I 
have eaten the steak of a bull moose killed on the 
second day of October that was as free from any 
rank flavor as meat killed eight weeks later. The 
carcass of an animal should be dressed promptly 
and properly, and the meat should be given a 
chance to become tender without becoming tainted. 
Disregard of some of these conditions is probably 
the cause of most of the prejudices against certain 
forms of game. 

Moose meat may be kept Indefinitely without 
injury in the freezing room of a cold-storage ware- 
house, and such establishments now offer their 
facilities to the public in most cities. The meat 
may be left frozen for months: when thawed its 
quality will be found unimpaired. Venison which 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 207 

has been repeatedly frozen and thawed, however, 
will be comparatively flavorless. On two occa- 
sions I have left large pieces of moose meat in 
cold storage for more than eleven months, but the 
steaks were as fresh and sweet when cooked as if 
the animals had been killed a single week. 

A moose should be cut up, and the pieces wrapped 
in butchers' parchment paper and put in separate 
burlap bags, before refrigerating, so that portions 
may be taken out without thawing, and without 
the difficulties incident to cutting frozen meat. 
If it is necessary to cut a frozen hind-quarter of 
moose in the cold-storage warehouse a carpenter's 
hand saw should be used. It could not be cut 
with a knife. A meat saw would of course cut the 
bone readily, but it cuts the frozen flesh slowly, 
and it has so Httle "set" that the track of the blade 
is likely to be clogged by the particles of meat 
fiber freezing after the saw has passed. 

Most failures in broiling or roasting moose meat 
are due to disregard on the part of the cook of the 
natural dryness of the meat. Like most venison 
moose meat is dryer than the flesh of domestic 
animals. The fat is indigestible and unpalatable, 
and should be trimmed off^ and thrown away, its 
place being supplied by pork or butter. 



208 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

A moose steak should be cut thick, and should 
be served rare, unless one's taste absolutely Insists 
on more thorough cooking. If a wire broiler is 
used the wires should be well greased. The wire 
broiler will give good results if a hot coal fire, or a 
bed of hot hard-wood coals, is available. The 
surface of the steak should be seared quickly on 
both sides, to retain such juice as the meat contains, 
and with a slow fire this would be impossible. 
Do not season until the meat is done; then add 
pepper, salt, and plenty of butter. Serve hot^ from 
a hot platter. If a piece of meat has hung a day 
or two too long to suit an over-fastidious taste, 
the gamy flavor may be corrected by adding a 
little jelly — any kind which Is not sweet — and a 
dash of port or sherry. 

In the woods glowing hard-wood coals are not 
always available when needed. Most woodsmen 
for this reason prefer pan-broiling for steak. The 
frypan should be kept exceedingly hot. This is 
easily done, even If the fire Is of soft wood recently 
kindled, and a steak may be ready for the table 
long before a suitable bed of coals could be secured 
for grilling. The meat should be turned often. 
In pan-broiling none of the juice Is wasted. A 
heavy castlron frypan Is preferred to one of pressed 
steel, for It retains the heat better. 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 209 

Chops should not be cut and broiled with the 
bone, like mutton or the loin of beef, but the 
strips of sirloin and tenderloin should be cut out as 
fillets, leaving the bones for the soup kettle. The 
fillets should be sliced to the required thickness, 
and broiled as steak. If cooked with the bone, 
over a hot fire, the meat would be burned on the 
edges before that next to the bone was fairly- 
warmed through. 

For a roast the haunch is usually selected. It is 
best to remove the bone, though not necessary. 
The fire should be very hot, especially for the first 
few minutes, to sear the surface of the meat. 
Lay thin slices of fat salt pork on the meat, and 
baste often with the drippings. A gravy may be 
made from the juice In the pan, with currant jelly 
added. The time required for roasting will de- 
pend on the size of the roast, and the character of 
the fire. Serve hot. 

An excellent French rule for a sauce for roast 
venison is as follows: Thicken the drippings 
slightly with flour; pour off and add a wineglass 
of good claret; heat without boiling, and serve 
hot. 

Moose Stew. — Saw the marrow bones In pieces 

two Inches In length; cut the meat in medium-sized 

pieces; add three slices of pork cut In quarter-inch 
14 



210 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

squares, and three or four onions sliced; add pepper 
and salt, and a piece of butter as large as an egg. 
Boil three hours. Add three or four potatoes, 
quartered or sliced, in time to cook. When done 
add two or three tablespoonfuls of flour in a pint 
of water, stirring till it boils. For dumplings, use 
batter as for cream of tartar biscuit, put into the 
stew five or ten minutes before serving, according 
to size. 

Small pieces of tender meat, too small for the 
broiler, may be utilized in pies — made as chicken 
pies are made — or in Hamburg steak, or in the 
chafing dish. 

Moose Steak in Chafing Dish. — ^Take steak for 
three. Melt a piece of butter the size of an egg 
in a chafing dish. Put in the steak, and season 
it; when it is seared on the outside turn it over. 
Cook ten minutes, keeping the dish covered. Add 
a tablespoonful of port or sherry for each person, 
and a little currant jelly. Serve hot. 

If preferred the wine may be omitted. In this 
case a tablespoonful of flour should be added. 
When the flour Is cooked brown in the butter, add 
water to make a brown gravy. Dissolve in the 
gravy a tablespoonful of currant jelly. Serve hot, 
on toast. 

A moose liver is fifteen or eighteen inches long. 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 211 

and nine or ten inches wide. It is the one part of 
the animal which is adapted for immediate use 
on the table. A dish of fried liver may be served 
for supper on the same day that the animal met his 
death. The liver of moose is highly appreciated 
by all who like the liver of any animal. It should 
be parboiled for a few minutes, and then sliced 
and fried with bacon. 

The tongue of moose is not unlike beef tongue, 
and may be cooked similarly. Smoked, this was 
one of the favorite tidbits of the Indians, and it has 
found favor with many white men. "The Tongue 
of a grown Moose, dried in the smoak after the 
Indian manner, is a dish for a Sagamor.''^ 

A writer in Audubon and Bachman's Quadrupeds 
of North America tells of hunters who would spread 
the uncooked marrow of freshly killed moose on 
bread, and eat it with relish as they would butter. 
The marrow is usually cooked, however, and in 
various ways. Captain Hardy tells of burying the 
marrow bones in hot ashes, and leaving to cook all 
night."* Or they may be impaled on sticks and 
roasted before the camp fire. In this case, when 
the bone is burned so it can be easily split with a 

J Josselyn, New Englands Rarities Discovered (London, 1672), p. 20. 
* Sporting Adventures in the New World (London, 1855), vol, i., p. 
258; vol. ii., p. 211. 



212 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

knife the marrow will be sufficiently cooked. 
Perhaps the best use for the marrow, however, 
is to enrich the broth of a stew. Certainly a 
moose stew without this addition is likely to be 
thin and watery. 

Moose feet, when cooked, closely resemble 
pigs' feet in character and flavor. 

Prejudices on the part of intelligent people with 
respect to food survive longer than any other 
of the unreasoning whims which are handed down 
from a time when intelligence was lacking. The 
result has been a great economic waste, which 
often its victims could ill afford. Oxtails, it is 
said, were unknown and untried in France as an 
article of food until the Revolution, when a friend- 
less aristocrat was driven by hunger to beg the 
tails of cattle from the refuse of a butcher shop. 
He made a stew to ward off starvation, and thus 
discovered oxtail soup. 

The beaver's tail is not a switch to drive away 
the flies, like the tail of a horse or cow; nor a play- 
thing to be chased, like the tail of a domestic cat; 
nor yet an utterly useless appendage, as in the 
case of most other animals. Like the moose's 
muffle the beaver's tail is an important bodily 
member, and does work which human hands often 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 213 

cannot equal in the architectural and engineering 
undertakings for which the beaver is noted. 
And the beaver's tail, like the moose's muffle, is a 
highly esteemed article of food among the epicures 
of the woods who have had opportunity to eat It. 
Both possess character and flavor more closely 
allied to the fat of the green turtle than to any 
other well-known dish. The author cordially 
recommends both from personal experience to 
all who can appreciate richness and delicacy in 
their food. 

The suggestion that the "muffle" of a moose 
be eaten often causes the woodsman to inquire 
suspiciously, "What is the muffle, anyway?" 
When told that it is the nose and lip, his suspicion 
is likely to become violent antipathy. But the 
moose's muffle is not merely an olfactory organ: 
it is a member which is used as deftly as a man 
would use his hand in picking ofif twigs of con- 
siderable size from trees, the moose often reaching 
high in the air and breaking down the tops of 
saplings by this means. Like the beaver's tail it is a 
useful substitute for a hand, and like the beaver's 
tail it is the choicest tidbit which the animal can 
furnish for the table. 

"The Nose is look'd upon as a great Dainty; 
I have eat several of them my self; they are perfect 



214 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Marrow." Thus wrote Judge Dudley, son and 
grandson of Governors of the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony, in a monograph on the moose which 
was published in the Philosophical Transactions 
of the Royal Society of London nearly two hundred 
years ago. Audubon and Bachman in their 
Quadrupeds of North America^ also commend this 
dish. "The flesh is considered very good, espe- 
cially the moufflon, which forms the upper lip, and is 
very rich, juicy, and gelatinous. This is cleaned 
and dressed in the same manner as calves' head." 
And "a military chaplain" (Rev. Joshua Fraser), 
writing of a dinner in an Indian camp on the upper 
Ottawa, thus describes a dish of muffle: "The 
crowning dish was that grandest of all dishes, 
moose mouffle. This is the immense upper lip 
and nostrils of the animal, and I have no hesitation 
in pronouncing it one of the most toothsome and 
savoury of all the dishes within the range of the 
gastronomic art. It is white and tender as spring 
chicken, yet firm and substantial as fresh beef, 
with a flavor combining the excellencies of both. 
I eat to repletion, yet was not sensible of any of 
that uneasy heaviness which generally follows a 
too hearty meal."*^ 

s Vol. ii., p. 187. 

' Three Months among the Moose (Montreal, 1881), p. 26. 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 215 

The edible portion of the muffle comprises the 
fibrous flesh of the cheek, and the gelatinous 
prehensile upper Hp. The cartilaginous nasal 
septum Is of course not eaten. I have heard 
taxidermists say that the muffle cannot be saved 
for the table If the scalp Is to be used In mounting 
the moose's head. And still a skillful taxidermist 
once removed the head-skin of a large moose for 
me, and saved three and a quarter pounds of 
muffle, including cartilage, but Including also 
much of the rich flesh of the upper lip. This 
furnished for my table three quarts of thick rich 
stew — a dish which was greatly enjoyed by all 
who shared In it. 

Probably the muffles of more than nine-tenths 
of all the moose whose heads are not saved for 
mounting are thrown away In the woods, while a 
much larger proportion are thrown away in the 
taxidermists' shops. 

When I shot my first moose the guide, who was 
something of an epicure, and a skillful cook withal, 
described stewed muffle In terms of extravagant 
praise. His mouth fairly watered at thoughts of 
royal banquets In the woods, when simply a dish of 
muffle, with pilot bread and tea, had constituted 
the menu. 

"What's It like?" I asked. 



216 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

"Why," said he, "it's Hke— " and he tried to 
think of something worthy to be compared with 
it; "it's Hke — that is — youVe eaten — you've 
eaten pigs' feet? But, thunder! Pigs' feet are 
no more to be compared to moose muffle — " 
and he struggled to find words with which to 
make adequate apology to the moose family 
for allowing himself to make such an unworthy 
comparison. 

I have eaten of the muffles of many moose since 
then, and I too am unable to name a familiar dish 
to which it may be likened. Perhaps turtle soup, 
in which the fat of the turtle is used in prodigal 
amount, resembles it more closely than anything 
else. 

Slewed Muffle of Moose. — Clean the muffle 
thoroughly by skinning, shaving off the skin of the 
nostrils with a sharp knife. Wash thoroughly 
and cut into two-inch pieces. Put the meat into a 
stew-pan, with a slice of clear fat salt pork cut into 
dice, and an onion cut up fine. Add cold water to 
cover, and let it stew gently till tender — four or 
five hours. Add water as it boils away, being sure 
to have plenty of broth when done. Add sliced 
potato in season to cook. Thicken, season, and 
serve. 

Newton Hibbs, writing of moose hunting in the 




Trophies Brought to Camp 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 217 

Rocky Mountains, tells of cooking the muffle of a 
moose which he killed.^ 

"The head of the moose was cooked in the best 
style of the hunter's art. It was coated with clay 
all over, by rubbing the sticky, putty-like substance 
into the coarse, long hair, till it was enclosed 
in a case of mud two inches thick. . . . Meantime 
a hole was shovelled out, large as a pork barrel, 
and was filled up with dry wood, which was made 
to burn like a furnace till the sides of the oven 
were almost white with heat. The head was 
dropped into the hole, and covered with live 
coals of fire. Over all was thrown the loose dirt 
dug from the hole, and the moose-head was left 
to roast till the next morning. . . . The clay was 
baked like a brick, and when cracked and torn 
off it removed the skin, and left the clean, white, 
sweet meat exposed." Mr. Hibbs vouches for 
the resulting dish as delicious, and no doubt it 
was. 

A fair substitute for the baking hole dug in the 
ground is a double baking tin. The muffle should 
be cleaned as for stewing. If roasted three or 
four hours in the double baker, with three or four 
thin slices of pork, the muffle being basted fre- 

' The Big Game of North America, edited by George O. Shields 
(Chicago, 1890), p. 22. 



2i8 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

quently, and water enough being added to make a 
thick gravy, it should be tender when served. 
The baking tin should be left uncovered for a 
while at the last, so the surface of the lip will 
become crisp. Gravy may be made by adding 
flour and mushrooms to the juices in the pan, 
or otherwise, in the discretion of the cook. Roasted 
in this way the red meat of the cheeks is likely to 
be tough, but the large, crisp, richly-flavored upper 
lip will provide a new and agreeable experience 
for one whose tastes are at all epicurean, especially 
if he is fond of the "crackling" of roast young 

pig- 
Moose meat is the only kind of venison adapted 
for preserving in brine. Meat of the other species 
of deer should be dried rather than corned, if it 
is not to be used fresh.^ In Nova Scotia the 
farmers who live near the moose country frequently 
lay down moose meat for winter use. Their 
brine barrel is somewhat smaller than a flour 
barrel. The brine is made with about three 
quarts of salt — more or less according as it is early 
or late in the fall — and a quarter of a pound of 
saltpeter to the barrel. Often half a teacupful 
of molasses is added, and sometimes ground cloves 

8 See p. 1 8. 



MOOSE MEAT AS FOOD 219 

and other spices. Fat and lean alike are laid down. 
The author can vouch for the excellent quality of 
moose meat cured in this way. Few would be 
able to distinguish it from the best corned 
beef. 



CHAPTER X 

THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 

In view of the constantly increasing cost of 
lumber, our children must consider more seriously 
than our fathers did the conservation of the timber 
supply. Vast forests reached from ocean to ocean 
before the first white settlers came. The portions 
of this land adapted for raising grain and vege- 
tables will never revert to timber, but much of 
this ancient wooded area is adapted for nothing but 
forest, and with intelligent care and protection it 
may to the end of time supply the lumber markets 
and the pulp mills of the United States and Canada. 

The people of central Spain in the Middle Ages 
destroyed their forests because the forests har- 
bored the birds which ate their grain. Today it is 
said if a bird would fly across the arid wastes of 
Don Quixote's country he must carry his forage 
with him. The Quixotic Spaniards are rid of the 
birds, and of the grain as well. 

Protection of existing forests is vastly easier than 

220 



THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 221 

reforestation: protection of an existing game supply 
is vastly easier than restocking territory from which 
game has disappeared. Futuregenerationsmaysee 
the Western plains restocked with bison, but in our 
day instead of the bison we have only the reminis- 
cences of old men who tell how they saw the dimin- 
ishing herds slaughtered for their hides and tongues. 
This problem of the North American forests is not 
yet acute, it is true, but the first half of the twenti- 
eth century should consider the needs of the second 
half with respect to lumber; and the twentieth 
century should not forget the probable needs of 
the twenty-first century with respect to meat. 

The Chief Game Commissioner of Nova Scotia, 
in an appendix to the report of the commissioners 
for 1913, says: **As far as our Province is con- 
cerned it is probable that there will always be ample 
wild land to provide food and shelter for more 
moose than we now have. . . . The land best 
adapted for them is useless for almost anything 
else." This comment on the moose cover of 
Nova Scotia is equally applicable to enormous 
tracts in the northern tier of States, and in the 
British Provinces, from Nova Scotia to Alaska.* 



' "Without its big game Alaska would be virtually uninhabitable." — 
Rev. Dr. Stuck in Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled (N. Y., 1914), 
p. 277. 



222 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

If the timber crop of these wild lands is judiciously 
harvested, all growing trees measuring less than a 
certain size being left on the stump, there need be 
no exhaustion of the timber supply, and at the 
same time browse and shelter may be furnished 
for a vast number of moose and deer, besides 
smaller game animals and game birds. 

With the constant increase in the prices which 
the consumer must pay for lumber and for meat, 
may arise indeed the necessity for the governments 
to take all large tracts of wild land from private 
ownership. Under the direction of forest and 
game commissioners the governments of the 
United States and Canada could thus exercise 
control over the supply and the price of lumber and 
of venison. Great quantities of venison could be 
systematically marketed every winter. The sup- 
ply would not be unlimited, but there would be no 
occasion to apprehend exhaustion. 

If a supply of meat equal in quality to the beef 
and mutton of the butcher shops could be secured 
at a less price than domestic meat it would be 
folly not to take advantage of it. "There are 
counties in the State of New York, within fifty 
miles of New York City," writes William T. 
Hornaday, "that could under adequate manage- 
ment be made to yield annually more pounds of 



THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 223 

venison than of beef or mutton, and this could be 
accomplished without the annual expenditure by 
the State of more than five per cent, of the value of 
the venison."'' "The unoccupied forest lands of 
the United States could in my opinion produce 
annually for our consumption at least 2,000,000 
adult deer, without deducting more than ^50,000 
from the wealth of the nation. Those deer would 
be worth, at a low estimate, an average of ^10 
each, which would mean ^20,000,000."^ 

The wild lands where the moose would thrive 
and multiply are much more extensive north of the 
Canadian boundary than in the United States. 
But on both sides of the international line the 
potential value of moose and deer as a source of 
food supply is enormous. At the same time, 
the value of the healthful recreation which is 
afTorded by the sport of hunting is not to be 
ignored. 

Moose are very hardy, and are never winter- 
killed. Unlike the wapiti of Wyoming, they 
require no care or feeding to aid them to survive 
the rigors of the severest winter. Furthermore, 



' Wild Life Conservation in Theory and Practice (New Haven, 19 14), 
p. 104. 

J Hornaday, uhi supra, p. 105. 



224 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

they will not destroy the timber. Their favorite 
food is taken from trees belonging to species which 
are never marketable. And the moose peels the 
bark from only one side of a tree: he never girdles a 
tree as he eats his breakfast. He consumes little 
of the forage on which the whitetail subsists, and 
still less of the moss and other things which sup- 
port the caribou. The three species of deer live 
in harmony in the same woodland home, practically 
ignoring each others' existence. If a given area 
of mixed woodland and barren is fairly well stocked 
with a certain number of moose, a large number 
of caribou may be introduced without the game of 
either species suffering from lack of food. If then a 
further addition is made of one Virginia deer for 
every moose in the tract in question, the effect on 
the forage supply for the three varieties of deer 
will be slight — for they eat comparatively few 
things in common. While this territory is thus 
harboring and feeding large numbers of game ani- 
mals there will still be no material impairment 
in the value of the stand of timber. 

In the state forests of East Prussia, and to a 
limited extent in the forests of Russia and Scandi- 
navia, underbrush is kept trimmed out, and 
wood-eating animals, such as the elk or moose, 
are forced to resort to the plantations of young 



THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 223 

trees and to various agricultural crops for a portion 
of their subsistence. They are unable to save 
themselves by migration. It will be centuries, 
however, before such conditions arise in the moose 
covers of America in any appreciable degree. 
Indeed, it may be a question whether the net 
yield of the forest would not be greater if the game 
as well as the timber were considered an asset, 
sufficient browse being left to support certain 
numbers of game animals. Except when deprived 
of their natural forage in the woods, the elk (moose) 
of the Ibenhorst preserve in East Prussia never 
seek food in the grain and potato fields of the 
neighborhood."* 

"Venison was more common than beef on the 
tables of medieval Europe," writes Prof. David 
E. Lantz of the Biological Survey of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, ^ and game killed by govern- 
ment employes, in forests under government 
ownership, is now common in many European 
markets. 

In the future, when the problem of meat supply 
becomes more pressing on the American continent, 
the necessity may arise to supplement government 

< A. E. Brehm, Tierlcben, 2d edition (Leipsic/ 1877), vol. iii., p. 109. 
s Bulletin No. 36, "Raising Deer and Other Large Game Animals in 
the United States" (Dec. 31, 1910), p. 14. 
IS 



226 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

protection of moose and other deer by government 
propagation of big game in great national forests. 
The supply of venison thus secured, and marketed 
by the government, would be of value for its own 
sake, and for its influence on meat prices in general. 
Meanwhile, the pecuniary value of the moose in 
America is represented in general terms by the 
money spent by sportsmen who engage in hunting 
them. As a source of food supply in the centers of 
population the moose is now a negligible quantity. 

With a continuance of the present measure of 
legal protection, the moose should be found in 
practically as great numbers centuries hence in 
America as today, and through the intervening 
period he can still furnish the best of sport for the 
hunter. He is adapted to escape extinction by 
the same qualities which have enabled him to 
survive the mastodon, and his other contemporaries 
of prehistoric times. 

The moose is now in possession of a greater area 
of forest country than any other species of the 
deer family on this continent. He Is the hardiest 
and most capable of self-protection of all the deer, 
and this will be about the last branch of the deer 
family to become extinct in America.^ With 
the extermination of the wolf and the cougar, 

6 Andrew J. Stone, in The Deer Family, p. 291. 



THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 227 

and with protective legislation, Indian as well as 
white man being required to respect the law, the 
causes which were reducing the numbers of the 
moose on both sides of the continent have been 
arrested. Given reasonable protection from in- 
discriminate slaughter, moose will live and thrive 
as close to civilization as any of the deer family. 
They are the least gregarious of all the deer, 
and their natural range affords good cover — two 
facts which will aid them in avoiding extermination. 

Protective Legislation.'' — Many now living re- 
member when It was common for men to go into 
the woods of Maine and eastern Canada on snow- 
shoes, when the snow was too deep for the moose to 
escape by flight, and kill every such animal en- 
countered, without legal restriction, the meat being 
sold to the lumbermen In their camps, or sledded 
out for sale at a low price in the towns and cities. 
No part of the moose's vast range, In either hemi- 
sphere, is so remote that such slaughter should 
again be permitted. 

The first measure of protection In any territory 

T All phases of the subject of game protection, from the legal stand- 
point, are discussed in Case and Comment (Rochester, N. Y.) for 
October, 191 1. This number of the magazine contains articles on 
" A History of Game Legislation in the United States," " The Rights of 
Amateur Sportsmen," and " Excusable Violations of the Game Laws." 
Many decisions of the courts of various States are cited. 



228 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

should be a bag limit; the second should be laws 
protecting females and calves. Extending the 
protection to spike-horns would tend to obviate 
the risk of cows being shot by mistake, and would 
deprive sportsmen of no trophies of great interest 
or value. The hunting season should be limited 
by law, protecting moose through the season of 
deep snows, and through the summer, when they 
are compelled to take refuge in the water. If 
further protection is needed, hunting in the rutting 
season should be forbidden. If it is desired to 
discourage market hunting, in the interest of 
sportsmen, the sale of game, except on payment 
of a substantial license fee, may be forbidden. 
In some places the sale of all game is prohibited, 
as well as its export. 

By the aid of protective measures such as these, 
the numbers of moose have greatly increased in 
many portions of the moose's range, and the 
animals have spread into unoccupied territory, 
from which they had perhaps been driven by their 
natural enemies, now exterminated. 

An illustration of the value of protective legisla- 
tion, followed by enforcement of the law, is afforded 
by the reports of the Game Commissioners of Nova 
Scotia for 1913 and 1914. In these reports figures 
are given showing the kill of moose in the Province 



THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 



229 



in 1908, which was the last year when Nova Scotia 
law permitted the killing of cow moose, and in each 
succeeding year. These figures may be tabulated 
as follows : 



Year 

1908" 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 
1914 







Bulls 


Cows 


Sex not 




killed 


killed 


stated 


. 300 


240 


148 






(Bulls only) 









Total 
killed 

688 
405 
509 
617 
678 
704 
1091 



This legislation protecting the females resulted 
at the end of five years in an increased kill of 
moose. At the end of two years, in fact, there 
was an increase in the number of bulls killed, and 
bulls alone furnish the trophies which are most 
prized by a majority of sportsmen. 

At the close of the hunting season of 1902 the 
writer had authentic information of twenty-two 
moose killed that season on the head-waters of 
the Aroostook River in Maine. He had equally 
trustworthy information that no part of the meat 
of any of those twenty-two moose was taken out of 
the woods, — except the two hundred pounds or 
more which furnished steaks and stews for the tables 
of himself and his friends from time to time through 
the succeeding winter. Very little of the meat of 
any of the moose killed was consumed in camp. 



230 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

At that time a law in Nova Scotia provided that 
"any person or party of huntsmen who kill a moose 
or caribou shall carry the flesh thereof out of the 
woods within ten days after killing the animal." 
For violation of this law a fine of from fifty to two 
hundred dollars was imposed.^ Under the game or- 
dinance of Yukon Territory also a fine not exceed- 
ing five hundred dollars may be imposed on any 
person who, having killed a moose or other game 
animal, fails to use the meat for food, or to cause 
it to be used for food, or to be offered for sale in 
some market within the Territory. A law of this 
tenor in most moose-hunting countries would tend 
to protect game in the less accessible places, leaving 
the territory where the problem of transportation 
would be most diflicult as a sort of refuge, where 
the animals could live and breed in comparative 
safety. This remote territory would of course 
serve as a source of supply, from which the animals 
would spread into the country more easily reached 
by tote team or canoe. 

A modification of the Nova Scotia law might be 
desirable, under which the amount of meat which 
the hunter should be required to carry from the 
woods should be limited to fifty per cent, of the 

^Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1900, chap. loi, sec. 3. The ten 
days' Hmitation seems unnecessarily short when game is killed in 
November, but it has since been reduced to seven days. 



THE FUTURE OF THE MOOSE 231 

dressed weight, exclusive of head and hide; and 
in some territories exempting from the appHcation 
of the law hunters who use the flesh of the animals 
which they kill as food while in the woods. 

Men who hunt include those who care for nothing 
but a trophy, and also those who care for nothing 
but meat for the market. But in addition to the 
head hunters and the market hunters are the sports- 
men who enjoy the sport of hunting, who prize 
the trophies which they secure, and who recognize 
the economic value of the moose as food. They 
have no desire to commercialize sport by selling 
moose meat to the butcher shops; neither do they 
wish to see moose exterminated for their heads, 
as the bison were well-nigh exterminated for their 
hides forty years ago. If the law should compel 
sportsmen to take moose meat from the woods, 
and at the same time should close the markets to 
traffic In game, there would be no just ground for 
complaint. The sportsman, on reaching the 
nearest settlement, can always give the meat away, 
if he does not care to keep it for the benefit of 
himself and his friends by the aid of some cold- 
storage warehouse at his home. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 

A PARTY of sportsmen and guides reached an old 
logging camp at the close of a short autumn day, 
and set about the simple task of making the place 
habitable for a season of moose hunting. 

Most of the log structures which had formed the 
wood-choppers' little settlement had fallen into 
decay, but one of the smaller cabins had been 
kept In condition for the use of occasional parties 
of hunters. With roof and windows In repair, 
and walls freshly chinked with moss, this cabin 
was as habitable as ever. The guides, trained 
from childhood In the use of the ax, soon had an 
ample store of fuel for the night, and were gathering 
boughs to cover the withered remains of the beds 
used by the previous occupants. The old cook- 
stove — and who ever saw a new cook-stove In a 
logging camp? — was quickly glowing with heat, 
and fitfully gleaming with light through the broken 

castings, held together In places by rusty hay wire. 

232 




An Old Logging Camp 




A Logging Camp in the New Brunswick Woods 



THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 233 

To one of the guides was assigned the position 
of cook, and supper was soon In preparation. 
Meanwhile the tired sportsmen unpacked their 
dunnage and made ready for a brief residence In 
the moose country. 

A lamp with a dingy chimney, hanging from a 
roof timber, cast uncertain rays over the cedar 
splits which covered the roof, and over the rough 
logs of the wails. It disclosed a number of bunks 
across one end of the cabin; It showed pegs and 
nails to serve the purposes of wardrobe hooks and 
gun-racks; It showed the stray antler of a moose, 
blanched and gnawed, and fastened to a log on the 
side of the cabin, accommodating a store of well- 
thumbed magazines, while underneath the lamp 
a trap door In the floor, near the stove, covered a 
cavity where the occasional sweepings could be 
consigned to obscurity. For decoration the camp 
boasted two or three calendars of previous years, 
allowed to survive for the sake of their pictures, 
and a few cartoons of a recent Presidential cam- 
paign, of interest by reason of the moose which 
was represented In them. 

As the hot biscuit and tea, fried pork and pota- 
toes disappeared from the rough table the question 
of a name for the camp was raised. Various 
suggestions met counter proposals. " Camp Moos- 



234 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



wa" found most favor, and, when supper was over, 
one sportsman expressed regret that no paint was 
to be found within less than two or three days* 
journey. 

"We ought to paint the name on a board," 
said he, "and put it up over the door." 




The Moose in Politics 

(From the Cleveland Plain Dealer) 

"When you haven't any paint there's always a 
branding iron handy," remarked one of the 
guides, and he went out in search of material 
for the desired signboard. 

The snow which had filled the air since morning 
had ceased to fall, the clouds had cleared away, 
and the guide went out into a world of Christmas 
trees, heavy with silver floss, and glistening in the 



THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 235 

moonlight. The silvery disc of the orb of night, 
shining down through the trees, seemed larger and 
brighter than ever. The stars were gleaming 
with unaccustomed brilliancy, for nothing can 
equal the splendor of a night in the northern woods. 
Everywhere bright lights and dense shadows 
made the snowy picture seem unreal, and the 
silence, unbroken silence, added to the impression 
that it was only a picture, after all. 

The guide soon brought into the cabin a small 
board taken from a condensed-milk box, and with it 
a number of pieces of iron of various shapes found 
in the hut which had served the logging crew as a 
blacksmith shop. He thrust the ends of the irons 
into the fire, and while the irons were being brought 
to a red heat the letters were penciled on the 
improvised signboard. Soon the smoking wood 
was receiving, letter by letter, the name which 
should distinguish the camp. 

While the amateur sign-writer busied himself 
with his branding irons, the gathered wisdom of city 
and forest discussed the origin of the moose's 
name, and the history of his discovery by the 
early European explorers. Conflicting views were 
entertained regarding the origin of the names of 
the now familiar animals and birds of the North 
American woods, and from the study suggested 



236 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

by this discussion has resulted the gathering of 
the facts given in this chapter. 

The trader, the soldier, the farmer, precede 
the naturalist in all new territory. They name the 
places and the things which they see, and when 
the naturalist arrives he usually finds most of 
the unfamiliar animals called by wrong names. 
But it is then too late to correct mistakes. 

The earliest explorers in America began, indeed, 
by misnaming the painted and feathered savages 
who stood on the shore and stared in wonder at 
the big boats which had been blown by the wind 
from an unknown land, and which could carry a 
whole village at a time. Under the impression that 
the American coast was really the shore of the 
Asiatic continent, the discoverers of the New 
World called the natives "Indians." As a result 
of this mistake the word "Indian" today may 
mean anything from a painted KIckapoo to the 
Maharaja of Mysore or the Galkwar of Baroda. 
The word "Amerind" was coined some fifteen 
years ago in an attempt to correct the error made 
in the time of Columbus, but such an effort is 
likely to be as futile as the effort to restore the 
name "elk" In this country to Its rightful possessor. 

The early settlers in the English colonies on our 



THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 237 

Atlantic coast — probably in Virginia — met two 
species of deer. The smaller they called "deer,'* 
and by this name the Virginia, or whitetail, deer 
{Cariacus virginianus) has been popularly known 
ever since. The other species, the wapiti, was 
unknown to them, as doubtless the red deer and 
the elk of Europe were. Seeing the great size of the 
wapiti, and knowing that the European elk was a 
large animal, the colonists gave the name "elk" 
to the wapiti, thus leaving the true elk, alces, 
without a name. Later, when Englishmen met 
the true elk in the more northern forests, they 
gave him the Algonquian name moose. 

According to the Handbook of American Indians y 
issued by the Smithsonian Institution in 1910,^ 
the names of the moose in various Algonquian 
dialects were as follows : Narraganset and Massa- 
chuset, moos; Delaware, mos; Passamaquoddy, 
mus; Abnaki, monz; Chippewa, mons; Cree, 
monswa. The Montagnais of Quebec, another 
Algonquin tribe, called him moosh. "All these 
words signify 'he strips or eats off,' in reference 
to the animal's habit of eating the young bark 
and twigs of trees. "^ 

' Part I., p. 940. 

' The differences in spelling in the various dialects are partially ex- 
plainable perhaps by the fact that the Indians employed a sound which 
cannot be closely indicated by letters of the English alphabet. S^bas- 



238 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Some of the French explorers in Canada found 
there fishermen who had come from the Basque 
country of southern France. Meeting the animal 
now known as the moose, and never having seen 
the European elk, these fishermen called the 
moose by the Basque word for deer — orenac. 
From this is derived orignac, orignal, words used 
by French writers to designate "I' elan d^Ame- 
rigue."^ A well-known American writer on natural 
history makes orignal an equivalent of original, 
signifying "un type," or an animal of a newly- 
found species. But derivations cannot be estab- 
lished by guesswork. The Basques, untrained 
in zoology, in calling the moose orenac, or "deer," 
were doing as well as they could under the circum- 
stances. The name at least distinguished the 
moose from the other species of the deer family 
which were met by the explorers. 

Liberties are taken with the names of others 
of the deer tribe. The Chief Game Guardian of 



tien Rasle, the French missionary who compiled a dictionary of the 
Abnaki language late in the seventeenth century, interprets "orignal" 
by the word mss. Fr. Rasle employed a character something like the 
figure 8 to denote this vowel sound. He calls this a guttural ou (oo), 
"sounded wholly from the throat, without any motion of the lips," 
and adds that in the case of this ou he was unable to imitate closely 
the Indian pronunciation. — See Memoirs of the American Academy 
of Arts and Sciences, New Series (Cambridge, 1833), vol. i., pp. 495, 567, 

570. 

3 Larousse, Grand Dictionnaire Universel. 



THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 239 

Manitoba, In his report for 191 5, describes the four 
species of deer found in the Province as "moose 
deer, elk deer, jumping deer, and cariboo." The 
animal called "jumping deer" in Manitoba Is 
called "red deer" in the Report of the Game and 
Fisheries Department of the Province of Ontario 
issued in 1915. The name "jumping deer" Is 
not likely to be misunderstood by anyone who has 
seen the whitetall In rapid flight, but a European 
might easily Interpret "red deer" as meaning the 
wapiti or "elk deer," since the wapiti Is a close 
kinsman of the European red deer {Cervus elaphus). 

The European elk, like his brother the American 
moose, seems fated to be lost in a maze of etymo- 
logical confusion. Richard Lydekker, the English 
zoologist, writes: "By the ancient Greeks. . . . 
the great stag we now call the elk was regarded 
as the personification of strength, and was accord- 
ingly named alee, from aAx?;, strength. From this 
comes the Latin alces, the German Elend, the 
French elan, and the English elk.""^ Mr. Lydekker 
is evidently less of a linguist than he Is paleontol- 
ogist and naturalist. 

The Greek word for strength is a'AK?/', while the 

* The Great and Small Game of Europe, Western and Northern Asia 
and America (London, 1901), p. 42. 



240 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

word for elk is aXKt} {dike), the transposition of the 
accent being the only difference. The first Greek 
writer, so far as known, who mentioned the elk, 
was Pausanias, the geographer. In the course of 
an argument to show that the tusks of the elephant 
are horns, and not teeth, Pausanias cites "the 
elks, those wild animals in Celtic land," and 
adds, "the male elks have horns on their eye- 
brows, but the females have none at all."^ Now 
Pausanias lived about two centuries later than 
Caesar.^ It is to be presumed that the Greek 
writer adapted his name for the animals which 
"have horns on their eyebrows" from the Latin of 
Caesar, for the "Celtic land" was Roman territory, 
and the Greeks doubtless received their informa- 
tion about it from Roman sources. 

Andrews, the Latin lexicographer, says that 
alces is derived from the old German elg. He 
does not credit either word with Greek origin. 
Elg, then, is the parent word, from which are 
derived alces,'' uXki-j, the modern German Elch and 
the English word elk. It is unfortunate that a 
name based upon this root has not been adopted 
in all languages to designate animals of the Alces 
family. 

5 Description of Greece, translated by J. G. Frazer, book v., chap. xii. 
' See infra, p. 274. ' The c had the sound of k. 



THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 241 

Various American writers give Eland and Elend 
as German words meaning elk, and, as Elend in 
German means misery, they assume that the 
Germans bestowed this appellation on the elk 
on account of its awkwardness and homeliness.* 
According to Meyers's Grosses Konversations-Lexi- 
kon, the German names for the elk are Elch and 
Elen, and Elen, according to Meyers, is derived 
from the Lithuanian word elnisy meaning stag. 
Larousse also, the French lexicographer, derives 
elan, the French word for elk, from the Lithuanian. 
Elend was a former spelling for Elen in German, 
but is now practically obsolete. There is no 
reason to believe that the moose is as unhappy 
as his ungainly movements and unattractive facial 
characteristics might be thought to indicate, and 
it is pleasing to be able to refute the slander 
implied by the assumption that he is known any- 
where by a name denoting misery. 

In various texts which have survived of Pliny's 
Naturalis Historia the moose (or elk) is denomi- 
nated achlis or machlis, as well as alces. From 
Pliny is taken the scientific name Alces machlisy 

' Seventh Report, N. Y. Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, p. 225. 
Even Kapherr {Das Elchwild, p. 56) says the Elend was given this 
name because of the suffering which he endures from various bodily 
ailments. 
16 



242 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

used by Ogllby and others, especially Englishmen. 
Gray,^ however, used the name Alces malchis as 
meaning "the elk or moose," transposing the 
ch and the /. Perhaps he assumed that malchis 
or alchis was allied to alces, and that some copyist 
of Pliny had carelessly transposed the consonants 
in the middle of the word. But Ainsworth, the 
Latin lexicographer, tells us that achlis (or machlis) 
is derived from the Greek kXivco, *'to lie down," to 
which the a privative was prefixed, achlis thus 
meaning something which cannot lie down, referring 
to Caesar's fable of the elk's jointless legs. 

In some languages a name signifying simply 
"large animal" is used to denote Cervus alces — • 
following the ^^ animal magnum^' used by certain 
medieval writers. Thus granhestia is used in 
Italian and Spanish, and granhesta in Portuguese. 
Albertus Magnus, philosopher and alchemist, 
who lived in the thirteenth century, seems to have 
coined the word equicervus, "horse-deer," as a sort 
of descriptive name for the elk of Germany, and 
Latin writers 300 years later used onager or "wild 
ass" as an equivalent for alces, taking notice of the 
animal's large ears. In modern times also scientific 
writers have exercised their ingenuity in devising 
new names, thus adding to the general confusion. 

9 Proceedmgs of the Zoological Society of London, 1850, p. 224. 



THE NAMES OF THE MOOSE 243 

Agasslz called the moose Cervus lobatus, and others 
have used the names Alces palmatus, Alces muswa^ 
Alee alces, and so on through a very imposing list. 

Accepting Judge Caton's dictum that the 
European elk and the American moose are indis- 
tinguishable/° we are led to the following equation: 

Europe America 



Elk (England) 
Elch (Germany) 
Elg (Sweden, Norway) 
Elen (Germany) 
Elan (France) 
Eland (Holland) 



■ = Alces = • 



'Moose (U. S., Canada) 
Moose-deer (U. S., Canada) 
Flat-horned elk (Rocky Mts.) 
Orignal (Canada) 
Orignac " 

Orignat " 



There is an increasing tendency among Euro- 
pean writers to recognize and use the word *' moose" 
as an equivalent of elk. Since Americans cannot, 
at this late day, correct the error of their fore- 
fathers, and say "elk" when they mean Cervus 
alces, and "wapiti" when they mean Cervus 
canadensis, possibly the name "elk" in Europe 
will ultimately give way to the name used by the 
North American Indians when they spoke of the 
great wood-eating deer. 

To the list of misnomers must be added the 
name of the so-called Irish elk. He was not an 
elk at all, but an animal more nearly allied to the 
fallow deer. He is known to scientists as Cervus 

^° A Summer in Norway (Chicago, 1875), p. 327. See supra, p. 57. 



244 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

giganteus or Megaceros hibernicus. Many skele- 
tons of this animal have been found in the peat 
bogs of Ireland. Rowland Ward, in his Records 
of Big Gamey describes twenty heads of the Irish 
elk. One belonging to the Duke lof St. Albans 
measures twelve feet and six inches from tip to 
tip. A head in the Dublin Museum spreads eleven 
feet and five inches; it has a palm seventeen inches 
in breadth, and has eleven points on each side. 
But these animals were notable chiefly for their 
antlers: the skeletons indicate a smaller body than 
that of the moose. "The moose is the largest 
animal of the deer family, living or extinct. Even 
the Irish elk . . . was a smaller animal."" A 
skeleton of the Irish elk in the American Museum 
of Natural History in New York is six feet high 
at the withers, and the spread is nearly ten feet. 

A restoration of the Irish elk, pictured in Os- 
born's Age of Mammals, shows an animal with 
head and body of the wapiti, or red deer, type, 
rather than of the moose. The characteristic 
muzzle of the moose, with great prehensile lip, 
and his short body and long legs are lacking." 



" Homaday, American Natural History (N. Y., 1914), vol. li., p. 108. 

" The Age of Mammals in Europe, Asia, and North America, p. 400. 
Fossil remains of the Irish elk are found in the British Isles, and in 
France, Germany, Austria, northern Italy, and even Siberia. {Ibid., 
p. 419.) 



CHAPTER XII 

THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 

The moose and the Indian have always been 
closely associated. The Indian gave the moose 
the name by which he is known to us today. The 
most skillful hunters of the moose have been 
Indians, and some writers have even asserted that 
no one but an Indian can master the art of "call- 
ing" the moose in the early fall days when the 
mating instinct asserts itself. Around anything in 
which a primitive people are interested, if the peo- 
ple possess imagination, legends are sure to grow 
up; around everything which was a vital part of the 
Indian's experience, like the moose, the bear, and 
the beaver, myths were woven, carrying the un- 
certain threads which connected man with the 
Spirits, good and evil, which were created by his 
hopes and his fears. 

But an Indian is not easily persuaded to narrate 
to white men the folk-tales which he has heard 
his elders tell beside the lodge fires of his people. 

245 



246 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

The red man is sensitive to the white man's ridicule. 
He knows well that his beliefs are not the beliefs 
of his white brother — and the white brother some- 
times indiscreetly laughs when subjects are dis- 
cussed which have serious import in the mind of 
the red man. Furthermore, these tales are told 
from generation to generation with little change 
in the Indian phraseology, the oft-repeated telling 
fixing the form of the story almost as in a printed 
page. The same stories, however, told to a 
cynical white man, in the white man's language, 
become bare skeletons divested of the embellish- 
ment which the Indian imagination could so richly 
supply. Such a skeleton of a story is that given 
by Thoreau, quoting the old chief of the Penob- 
scots whom he visited on one of his trips to the 
Maine woods many years ago.^ 

These myths and legends, which constitute the 
nearest approach to an Indian literature, have 
been handed down from time Immemorial, grand- 
parents telling them to their grandchildren while 
the active men of the intervening generation were 
absent on the long expeditions of war or the 
chase. They have been rescued from oblivion 
by the zeal of missionaries, travelers, and others, 
who knew the Indians well and had their confidence, 

* See p. 249. 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 247 

and who reduced the stories for the first time to 

writing. 

The central figure of Abnaki mythology was the 
demigod Glooskap, the giant guardian of the 
Indian race. Glooskap created men, and all 
the animals. "He made them at first very large. 
Then he said to Moose, the great Moose who was 
as tall as Ketawkqu's, *What would you do should 
you see an Indian coming.?'" Ketawkqu's was a 
giant, taller than the tallest trees. " Moose replied, 
*I would tear down the trees on him.' Then 
Glooskap saw that the Moose was too strong, and 
made him smaller, so that Indian could kill him."^ 
The short body, humped back, and bulging nose 
of the moose are due to the awful squeeze he 
received in the hand of Glooskap when the Master 
reduced him to his present size. Similarly other 
animals were transformed by the benevolent 
Glooskap, to protect the Indians from injury. 

Glooskap it was who taught the use 

Of the bow and the spear, and sent the moosej 

Into the Indian hunter's hands; 

Glooskap who strewed the shining sands 

■ Charles G. Leland, Algonquin Legends of New England, page 19. 
This version of the creation is attributed to the Passamaquoddies. 
With incidental variations most of the myths are common to many 
tribes of the great Algonquin family. 



248 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Of the tide-swept beach of the stormy bay 
With amethysts purple and agates gray, 
And brought to each newly-wedded pair 
The Great Spirit's benediction fair. 

But the white man came, and with ruthless hand 
Cleared the forests and sowed the land, 
And drove from their haunts by the sunny shore 
Micmac and moose, forevermore.^ 

Most of the striking features of the landscapes 
which were familiar to the Indians were woven 
into their mythology. At Bar Harbor are to be 
found the legendary remains of a moose, killed by 
Glooskap and turned to stone, while across the 
bay the petrified entrails of the animal are seen 
lying where the great benefactor of the Indian race 
threw them to feed his dogs. The same story, 
with minor variations, is told of other rocks, and 
other places, in Maine, New Brunswick, and 
Nova Scotia. Other characters, too, of the morn- 
ing twilight of Indian tradition figure in the role 
of the mighty hunter. 

Kineo ("the largest mass of hornstone known to 
geologists")? ill the aboriginal imagination was a 
cow moose lying prone in death, victim of the 
arrow of some supernatural sportsman.* 

» By Arthur Wentworth Eaton. 

♦ Thoreau, The Maine Woods, New Riverside edition, p. 235. 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 249 

Thoreau lacked knowledge of the Indian tongue, 
and he lacked sympathetic interest in the subject 
as well, so he gathered from his Indian guides 
little to add to the published folk-lore of the red 
men. In his Maine Woods Thoreau relates the 
circumstances of a visit which he paid in 1853 to 
Neptune, then, at 89 years of age, the head of the 
Penobscot tribe. The old Indian gave an account 
of the origin of the moose, as follows: "Moose 
was whale once. Away down Merrimack way a 
whale came ashore in a shallow bay. Sea went out 
and left him, and he came up on land a moose. 
What made them know he was a whale was that, 
at first, before he began to run in bushes, he had 
no bowels inside, but just like jelly fish."^ 

Campbell Hardy also quotes Micmacs in Nova 
Scotia as saying that the moose originally came 
from the sea. They believed that when too persist- 
ently hunted the animals return to the ocean as 
their natural refuge.^ Moose frequently swim 
long distances. If a moose should be seen by the 
unreasoning Indians swimming ashore from some 
distant but unseen island, it would not be strange 
if the red men should conclude that the mysterious 
animal was amphibious. And if the creatures 

s The Maine Woods, p. 200. 

6 Sporting Adventures in tJie New World (London, 1855), vol. i., p. 178. 



250 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

migrated to avoid persistent pursuit, the belief 
that they had taken refuge in the depths of the 
ocean would not seem to the aboriginal mind an 
illogical conclusion. 

In many Indian legends the characters described 
are given the names of animals or birds, while 
having the form and traits of men. Often a 
single attribute of the animal or bird whose name 
is used will be mixed incongruously with the 
qualities of men, and with the attributes of super- 
natural beings. Such a story is that of Mana- 
bozho and the Moose, told by Schoolcraft in The 
Myth of Hiawatha (1856), page 45. The story was 
related to Schoolcraft by the Ojibwas of Lake 
Superior in 1822. 

Another of this type is the story of " The Invisi- 
ble Boy," related by Rev. Silas T. Rand in Legends 
of the Micmacs. This is a long story of an amiable 
young man who took his name. Team, from his 
guardian genius, a moose. The young man's leg 
was broken while he was moose hunting one day, 
and his sister went in search of him. On finding 
him, she proceeded, at the brother's direction, to 
kill him with an ax. At the instant of the young 
man's death his body was transformed into that of 
a moose. The sister then, as previously directed. 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 251 

dressed the animal, drying and smoking the meat 
over a fire. The next day a malicious giant 
visited her wigwam, and in two meals ate the entire 
store of moose meat. By the brother's order, 
however, the sister had cured the scalp of the 
moose for a "medicine bag.'"^ This served as a 
charm, through whose agency she was enabled to 
escape from the giant, and from the other perils 
of the woods. But arriving in a village, and 
forgetting her brother's warning, she carelessly 
allowed the medicine bag to leave her possession. 
Thereupon the brother came to life in the form of 
an ogre, and proceeded to institute a miscellaneous 
massacre, which included the absent-minded sister 
among its victims.* 

Team, in still another folk-tale of the imagi- 
native Algonquins, is represented as a young 
Indian who was a very successful hunter. 

"Once, when he was off hunting, he began to 
feel lonely, and he said, 'I wish I had a partner.' 

7 An early missionary tells of a medicine bag made from the skin of 
an entire moose-head, except the ears. This was used by an Indian 
sorcerer for his personal "medicine" or "manitou." — Jesuit Relations 
(Cleveland, 1898), vol. xxii., p. 3^7- 

» Legends of the Micmacs, 1894, p. loi. This story was rela'.ed to 
Dr. Rand by an Indian woman in Prince Edward Island in 1848. Le- 
land, in the Algonquin Legends of New England, p. 140, tells another 
legend in which Team, the moose, figures, but in this case Team is 
simply a man, to whom was given the designation "Moose," as a sort 
of surname. 



252 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

When he went back to his wigwam that night, 
the fire was burning and supper cooked, though 
he saw no one. When he had eaten, he fell asleep, 
being very tired, and on waking next morning 
found all in order and breakfast prepared. This 
went on for some days. The seventh night, on 
his return, he saw a woman in the wigwam. She 
did not speak, but made all comfortable, and 
when the work was done made her bed on one side 
opposite his. This lasted all winter. She seldom 
or never spoke; but when spring came, and it was 
time for him to return to his village, she said, 
* Remember me, always think of me, and do not 
marry another woman.' When he got home loaded 
with skins and meat, his father had chosen a wife 
for him; but he would have nothing to say to her. 

"Next fall he went back Into the woods, and 
as he approached his wigwam, he saw smoke 
coming out of it, and when he entered, there 
sat the silent woman with a little boy at her side. 
She told the boy to shake hands with his father. 
Unlike most children, this child was born large 
and strong enough to hunt with his father, and be 
of much help to him, so that they got a double 
quantity of game, and in the spring the man 
went back to the village so rich that the chief 
wanted him for a son-in-law; but still he re- 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 253 

membered his partner's words, *Do not forget me; 
always think of me/ and held firm. On his 
return to the woods he found a second son. 

"Thus he succeeded in getting more game than 
ever, but, on going home to his village, he forgot 
his woodland mate, and, yielding to the solicita- 
tions of the chief, married his daughter. 

"In the fall he took his wife, his father-in-law, 
and his own father to the woods with him, where 
this time they found not only the two boys, but a 
little girl. The new wife gazed angrily at the 
mother and children, saying, *You should have 
told me you had another wife.' 'I have not,' 
answered the man. At these words the mother 
of the children rose up, saying, *I will leave my 
children with you ; but you must treat them well/ 
and she vanished. 

"The boys and men went hunting every day, 
and the little girl was left with her stepmother, 
who beat her and made a drudge of her. She 
bore it patiently as long as she could, but at last 
complained to her brothers, and the brothers and 
sister resolved to run away. When they fled, 
any one who looked from the hut would only have 
seen three young moose bounding over the snow. 

"When the father came home, he asked for the 
children. His wife said they had just stepped out; 



254 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

but when he went to look for them, he saw the 
moose tracks, and knew what had happened. He 
at once took his snowshoes and tomahawk, and 
started in pursuit of them. He traveled three 
days and three nights, always following the tracks. 
Every night he saw where they had nibbled the 
bark from the trees and where they had rested in 
the snow. On the fourth day he came to a clearing 
where four moose were feeding, and he knew the 
children had found their mother. He struck his 
ax into a tree and hung his snowshoes on it, then 
went to her and pleaded to be allowed to go with 
them; so she turned him into a moose, and they 
journeyed away together. 

"Meantime, his old father at home missed his 
son and his grandchildren, and went to look for 
them. He traveled three days and three nights, 
as his son had done, following the footprints and 
the tracks until, toward the fourth night, he saw 
the tomahawk in the tree, with the snowshoes 
hanging on it. He saw that now there were the 
tracks oi jive moose in the snow instead of three, 
and knew that he had come too late. These were 
the parents of all the moose in the world today.'*^ 



'/» Indian Tents, pp. 101-105. Miss Abby L. Alger, the author, 
assisted Charles G. Leland in collecting material for the Algonquin 
Legends of New England. 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 255 

The Menomini Indians of Wisconsin, their 
history, customs, and myths, are described in an 
exhaustive paper by Walter J. Hoffman, M.D., 
in the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of 
Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. '° The tribe is 
divided into phratries, or clans. A phratry, now 
extinct, was known as the Moose phratry, divided 
into the Moose, Elk, Marten, and Fisher totems. 

The Menomini myths relate, among other 
things, the adventures of Manabush, a demigod, 
grandson of Nokomis, and a mighty hunter. As 
in most mythologies, the Indian deities have 
many human characteristics, just as the men 
and animals of the remote antiquity of primitive 
peoples have many quasi-divine attributes. Mana- 
bush, by the aid of the Wolf, who was a manido, or 
spirit, and invisible to others, generally succeeded 
in his hunting. But his wife found fault alike in 
success and failure, and so, acting on the Wolfs 
advice, he deserted her. 

Manabush in his travels came to two villages, 
close together, one of which was inhabited by the 
Elk people and the other by the Moose people. 
The Moose people appear to have been four- 
footed hoofed creatures of carnivorous tastes who 
lived in wigwams. Their physical characteristics 

" 1892-93. See pp. 42, 161, 182-196, of the Report. 



256 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

are not well defined in the myths. It would per- 
haps be difficult to describe creatures, having 
hoofs instead of hands, who could play a game 
with plum stones, and beat their vanquished 
opponents with sticks. 

The chief of the Elk people welcomed Manabush, 
and gave him his daughter in marriage. The 
people of the two villages were great gamblers, 
and the Elks were usually the losers. As the 
myth relates, each game ended with the victors 
beating the losers with sticks and clubs, and driving 
them home to their own village. With the arrival 
of Manabush a new series of games, and tests of 
strength and skill, were undertaken. The hero, 
by his own prowess, and by the secret aid of 
the Wolf, and by other expedients which would 
never do in a gentlemen's game, was uniformly 
successful as a gambler and as an athlete, and the 
Moose at the close of each contest were clubbed 
back to their village. 

Manabush was finally tempted to exhaust his 
supply of arrows, and his own strength as well, 
in killing a large number of moose which craftily 
filed past his wigwam. The slaughtered moose 
then restored themselves to life and proceeded to 
kill the exhausted hunter, and chop him in pieces 
to devour him. 




A Vista in the Moose Country 
Near North Pole River, New Brunswick 




Good Moose Cover 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 257 

By aid of the Good Thunder manidos, however, 
Manabush was assembled in living form again, 
and with a new supply of willow arrows set out 
and killed all but two of the Moose people. "These 
he captured, the hunter saying to them, *Now, 
you find yourselves in this cedar swamp, where 
you must hereafter live and feed upon the mosimiu 
(willows); this will be your food for all time.' 
While saying this to the Moose he placed some 
willow twigs to their mouths to let them know 
how they tasted and what they thereafter would 
have to subsist on. Then the hunter returned to 
his wigwam, and his adopted people were thence- 
forth left in peace."" 

In the same paper (page 214) Dr. Hoffman re- 
lates the myth of the Catfish, and their attempt to 
kill a moose. But the moose trampled to death all 
the fish which did not seek safety in flight. "The 
catfish still carry spears, but their heads have never 
recovered from the flattening they received when 
they were trampled by the moose into the mud." 

A myth of the Dog-Rib Indians relates how 
Hottah, "the two-year-old moose, cleverest of all 
the northern animals," aided in the creation of 

" Page 196. The story of the Elk people and the Moose people, with 
some variations, is told in Algonquin Indian Tales, by Egerton R. 
Young, p. 245. 
17 



258 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

the Rocky Mountains.'^ The Dog-Ribs live in the 
timber country between Great Bear and Great 
Slave Lakes, less than three hundred miles south of 
the Arctic Circle. 

According to this legend, Naba-Cha, "the Big 
Man," lived west of the Mackenzie River in a 
wigwam made of three hundred great caribou 
skins. Each day he consumed a whole moose, or 
two caribou, or fifty partridges, for he was one of 
the largest men who ever lived. Now Naba-Cha 
was cruel and quarrelsome. When he was not on 
warlike forays into distant parts, he was playing 
the tyrant over those of his own household estab- 
lishment. Ithenhiela, "the Caribou-Footed," a 
young Cree, whom the Big Man had brought 
back as a slave from one of his marauding expedi- 
tions into the South Country, was the especial 
victim of the bad man's oppression. 

Hottah, the moose, finally told Ithenhiela of a 
country far in the west, through which the mighty 
Tes- Yukon flowed, a river almost as great as the 
great Mackenzie. Once beyond the Tes- Yukon 
the young Cree could find safety under the benign 
protection of the good Nesnabi, the only man in 
all the world whom Naba-Cha feared, 

""The Fireside Stories of the Chippwyans, " by James Mackintosh 
Bell, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1903, p. 80. 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 259 

Under Hottah's direction Ithenhlela gathered 
up a stone, a clod of earth, a piece of moss, and a 
branch of a tree. Then, with Ithenhiela on his 
back, the moose started across the vast plain 
which stretched in those days from the Mackenzie 
to the Yukon. Very soon they saw that Naba- 
Cha was in pursuit, mounted on his great caribou. 

"Fling out the clod of earth!" cried Hottah. 

Ithenhiela threw down the clod, and immediately 
great hills of earth rose up behind them, hills so 
wide and so high that it was many days before 
Naba-Cha again came in sight. 

When the Big Man seemed again about to over- 
take them, Ithenhiela threw out the piece of moss. 
Instantly a great muskeg swamp separated the 
man on the caribou from the man on the moose. 
For some days the caribou floundered in the 
swamp with his wicked rider, while Hottah raced 
toward the Yukon and safety. 

But Naba-Cha again came in sight of his fugi- 
tive slave. The stone was then thrown to the 
ground, and great rocky hills rose up. "Up to the 
very clouds rose the hills, white with snow, and 
magnificent, such as had never been seen before." 
It was a long time before the pursuers crossed the 
mighty barrier. When they again drew near to 
the moose and his passenger the branch of the 



26o THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

tree was thrown down, and a great forest sprang 
up. The trees were so large and so close together 
that Naba-Cha had to cut his way through, while 
the caribou was left behind with his antlers hope- 
lessly caught in the branches. 

Again Naba-Cha appeared in sight, but not 
until Hottah and Ithenhiela were safe on the 
other side of the Tes-Yukon. 

"Help me across the river, Hottah!" cried 
Naba-Cha. "Help me across, and I will do no 
harm to Ithenhiela!" 

Hottah went back for Naba-Cha, but in mid- 
stream, when returning, he threw him off his 
back, and the bad Big Man was swept into the 
rapids and was drowned. 

The two-year-old moose ("cleverest of all the 
northern animals") gave Ithenhiela instructions 
how to find the good Nesnabi, and then returned 
to his own country. 

There was a tradition among the Indians of 
eastern Canada of a moose of monstrous size 
which could walk without difficulty through 
eight feet of snow. "His hide is proof against all 
manner of weapons, and he has a sort of arm 
proceeding from his shoulders, which he uses as 
we do ours. He is always attended by a vast 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 261 

number of moose which form his court, and which 
render him all the services he requires."'^ 

In the Jesuit Relation for 1667-68 a missionary 
told of meeting a band of hunters who said they 
had found the bed of "the great moose," and had 
followed the trail a whole day in vain. The 
hunters, however, said they often killed ordinary 
moose, belonging to the retinue of the great one, 
while following the tracks of the invulnerable 
monster. This supernatural creature had the 
fifth member, as described by Charlevoix, ''dont 
il se sert comme de main pour se preparer son 
giste^'^ 

Freiherr von Kapherr quotes Prof. Marshall's 
comment that this myth is evidently the survival 
of a story of the mammoth and his proboscis, 
the professor adding that the mammoth probably 
was living in North America later than in the 
Eastern Hemisphere, and may have lived in the 
early days of the North American Indians.'^ 
Madison Grant ascribes to the Sioux a legend of a 
moose of the same fabulous size/^ but on what 
authority he does not state. 

'3 Charlevoix, Histoire de la Nouvelle France, vol. iii., Journal d'un 
Voyage dans I'Amerique Septentrio7iale (Paris, 1744), p. 127. 
''' Jesuit Relations (Cleveland, 1899), vol. li., p. 273. 
's Kapherr, Das Elchwild (Berlin, 1908), p. 56. 
'* "The Vanishing Moose," Century Magazine, Jan., 1894. 



262 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

Aside from the myths, properly so called, which 
cast an interesting side-light on the intellectual 
development of the Red Men, the Indians enter- 
tained many superstitions respecting the moose 
which entered into their' daily life. They believed, 
for instance, that they could travel three times as 
far, after a meal of moose meat, as after eating 
any other sort of food.'^ 

In their dreams the moose was a welcome 
visitor. Charlevoix, the Jesuit emissary of Louis 
XV., tells us: "The Indians look upon the moose 
as an animal of good omen, and believe that those 
who dream of them often may expect a long life." 
To dream of the bear, on the other hand, was a 
bad omen, unless the dream should come on the 
eve of a bear hunt.'^^ 

Fr. Le Jeune, writing in 1636, said that the 
Indians attributed reasoning powers to the moose. 
They would never give moose meat to the dogs 
when hunting, for if they did so they believed that 
the living moose would discover the fact, and 
conceal themselves. ^^ 

Various portions of the moose were used as 
charms and medicinal agents. "The Indian 
Webbes""^ make use of the broad Teeth of the Fawns 

' 7 Dudley, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1 72 1 , 

'* See Jesuit Relations (1637), vol. xii., p. 9. 

^^ Jesuit Relations, vol. x., p. 167. *" Women; literally, "weavers." 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 263 

to hang about their Childrens Neck when they are 
breeding of their Teeth.'"'' 

The behef that elk (or moose) were subject to 
epilepsy, and could cure themselves by scratching 
the ear with the left hind hoof till it drew blood, 
was current in northern Europe and in America 
two hundred or three hundred years ago. Human 
beings who suffered from the same disease were 
accordingly made to hold the hoof of a moose in 
the left hand, and rub the ear with it, as a means 
of cure. 

Joseph Jouvency, a priest of the Society of 
Jesus, wrote a history of the society in Latin, 
which was printed in Rome in 1710. In vol. xv., 
part v., he describes the country and manners of 
the savages of New France. This is reprinted, 
with an English translation, in the Jesuit Relations, 
Describing the moose, which, he says, is called 
the "great beast" by the natives, Fr. Jouvency 
tells us: 

"The savages eat its flesh, are clothed with its 
skin, and are cured by the hoof of its left hind foot. 
In this hoof there is a certain marvelous and mani- 
fold virtue, as is aflfirmed by the testimony of 
the most famous physicians. It avails especially 

" Josselyn, New Englands Rarities Discovered (London, 1672), p. 20. 



264 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

against the epilepsy, whether it be appHed to the 
breast, where the heart is throbbing, or whether 
it be placed in the bezel of a ring, which is worn 
upon the finger next to the little finger of the left 
hand; or, finally, if it be also held in the hollow 
of the left hand, clenched in the fist. Nor does 
it have less power in the cure of pleurisy, dizziness, 
and, if we may believe those familiar with it, six 
hundred other diseases. "^^ 

American writers have commented on this 
superstition as peculiar to the Indians. But some 
of the most eminent medical men of Europe in 
the later Middle Ages endorsed the belief, and they 
employed the hoofs of elk in the treatment of 
epilepsy long before the first Europeans visited 
the moose country of the New World. European 
writers have maintained, however, that this 
superstition among the North American Indians 
had an origin entirely independent of European 
influence. ^^ But the belief is sufficiently peculiar 
to warrant us in requiring quite positive evidence 
before we accept this statement of independent 
origin. 

""IlUus carnibus vescuntur, teguntur pelle, ungula posterioris sinistri 

pedis sanantur. Huic ungulce tnira qucedam & multiplex virtus inest, 
medicorum celeberrimorum testimonio commendata. . . ." — Jesuit Rela- 
tions (Cleveland, 1896), vol. i., pp. 246-249. 
'3 See page 350. 



THE A400SE IN IN DUN MYTH 265 

Fr. Rasle, who began the compilation of his 
dictionary of the Abnaki language in 1691, gives 
a word, bkass, meaning"/^ pie gauche de derriere 
de Vorignair^^ He gives no specific words for the 
other feet of the moose. This then was probably 
a term well understood in the Abnaki pharmaco- 
poeia, and used when the medicine man was 
treating an epileptic patient. The presence of this 
word in Fr. Rasle's dictionary, and the accounts 
of the epilepsy superstition given by early writers 
on the American Indians, have seemed to confirm 
the statement that this was an Indian belief, 
independent in its origin of the belief prevalent 
in Europe. 

But Charlevoix, writing In 1721, says, ^'On 
pretend que rOrignal est sujet a rEpilepsie,'^ etc. 
He does not say that it was an Indian belief: his 
"on pretend^* is as likely to refer to white men 
as to red men. Lahontan In 1686 wrote: "The 
left hind foot of the female cures the falling sick- 
ness," — but the baron's own skepticism Is Indi- 
cated by the added comment, " si credere fas est.''''^ 
And Lahontan is as likely to have referred to the 
belief of the Frenchmen of New France as to that 
of the Indians. Still earlier. In 1663, Pierre Bou- 

''' See Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, New 
Series (Cambridge, 1833), vol. i., p. 495. See footnote supra, p, 237. 
•s Nouveaux Voyages, under date of July 8, 1686. 



266 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

cher, writing from Three Rivers, says, "Von dit 
que la come du pied gauche est bonne pour la vial 
caduc.^' Here again evidence that this was con- 
sidered an Indian behef is entirely lacking. 

That Charlevoix did not attribute the belief 
to the Indians is indicated by his statement: "I 
have heard that the Algonquins, who formerly 
fed on the flesh of this animal, were very subject 
to epilepsy, and did not employ this remedy. 
Perhaps they had better ones."^^ Inasmuch as 
Charlevoix does not refer to the remedy as of 
Abnaki origin, we may conjecture that he looked 
upon it as one which the Abnaki had learned 
from the Europeans, and which they used in com- 
mon with the white men. 

It is true some of the writers of that period 
seemed to consider that this superstition did 
originate with the Indians. But it may be they 
were unaware that a similar belief prevailed in 
Europe. Thus Denys writes: "The moose is 
subject to epilepsy. The savages say that when 
he feels it coming on he stops, and with the left 

»* "J'ai out dire que les Algonquins, qui faisoient autrefois leurnourri' 
ture ordinaire de la Chaire de eel Animal, etoient fort sujets d I'Epilepsie, 
&f n'usoient point de ce remede. lis en avoient, peut-etre, de meilleurs." — • 
{Ubi supra, p. 126.) The Abnaki, among whom Rasle lived, occupied 
territory east and south of Quebec; the Algonquins lived farther west, 
on the north side of the St. Lawrence. Charlevoix's journeys took him 
among the tribes of both groups. 



THE MOOSE IN INDIAN MYTH 267 

hind foot scratches himself behind the ear so that 
the blood flows, and that this cures hlm."^'^ And 
Fr. Le Clercq: "The left hind foot cures epilepsy; 
but It Is necessary to secure It, the savages say, at 
a time when the animal Is Itself suffering from this 
malady, of which It cures Itself by placing this 
left foot to Its ear.'"^ 

Fr. Rasle's dictionary shows that the Indians had 
adopted from their earlier English neighbors the 
names of certain things previously unknown to them, 
as cow, pig, cabbage. Probably at the same time 
they adopted the superstitious belief In the efficacy 
of moose hoofs In therapeutics, and hence added 
^kass to their vocabulary, as they added " kaHs'' 
for cows, " kabits" for cabbage, '' pikess" for pigs, 
and other English words to describe their newly- 
acquired domestic animals and vegetables. 

According to Denys, "In the heart [of the moose] 
there Is a little bone which the Indian women use 

'T Description Geographique, etc. (Paris, 1672), vol. ii., p. 320. 
'* Nouvclle Relation de la Caspesie (Paris, 169 1), p. 472. Sieur de 
Di<5reville, a French traveler whose Relation du Voyage du Port Royal 
de I'Acadie was published in Rouen in 1708, gave this superstition to 
his readers in verse: 

II est fort sujet au haul mal, 
Mais dans les pieds fourchus de ce grand animal, 
La Nature a mis le remede; 
Quelle prevoyance I quel soin ! 
II se gratte la tele en ce pressant hesoin, 
Et se delivre ainsi du mal qui le possede. 



268 THE AMERICAN MOOSE 

to aid them in childbirth, reducing it to powder, 
and swallowing it in water, or in soup made from 
the animal."^^ Fr. Rasle seems to give an Indian 
origin to this belief also, for he records an Abnaki 
word, ^skanitehann, meaning "Tos qui est au 
milieu du cceur de l*orig7ial." But this supersti- 
tion was probably an importation from Europe, 
along with that relating to epilepsy. In the 
Grand Dictionnaire Universelle of Larousse ^^ os de 
coeur de cerj" is defined as an ancient medical term, 
meaning "the bone which is found in the heart 
of the deer, and which formerly was considered a 
powerful therapeutic agent." This bone is not 
an imaginary thing, however, as some writers 
have assumed. It is known to zoologists as os 
cordis. It is a local ossification of the septum 
between the ventricles of the heart, and is found 
in a number of varieties of ruminants, including 
domestic cattle, after they pass a certain age. Its 
medicinal value is nil. 

When the settlement of America by Europeans 
began the Indian medicine man had advanced 
about as far in his eff^orts to solve the mysteries 
of disease as the most learned professor of that day 
in all the Old- World universities. Neither could 
justly ridicule the beliefs and practices of the other. 

'9 Uhi supra, vol. ii., p. 321. 



Part U 

The Old-World Elk 



269 




Hunting Russian Elk 

From a Painting by Richard Friese 




An Elk Drive 

From a Painting by K. Wysotzki 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE ELK,' PAST AND PRESENT 

Migrating from the same ancestral homestead 
— probably in eastern Siberia — thousands of years 
ago, the elk of Europe journeyed westward, 
while his brother, the moose, turning toward the 
rising sun, crossed over to the North American 
continent. Climatic changes ultimately destroyed 
the forests of northern Siberia, and the elk moved 
southward and westward, occupying the broad 
plains of European Russia, and then advancing 
into central and western Europe, as far as the 
Atlantic, and the southern foothills of the Alps 
and the Pyrenees. Increasing density of popula- 
tion and disappearance of the timber in this western 
extremity of his ancient range, caused the tide of 
migration to recede, and the elk, slowly yielding 

' "Elk" as here used, and throughout this and the following chapters, 
denotes Cervus alces, the European and Asiatic relative of the moose. 
It does not refer to the American elk or wapiti. When the word "moose" 
is used it will be understood as referring to the American representative 
of the Alces family, but without implying difference in species. 

271 



272 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

to hostile conditions, withdrew from south- 
western Europe Into regions farther north and 
east, which still continue In his possession. 

The elk was a contemporary of the mammoth 
in the eastern hemisphere, as the moose was in 
the western. Both branches of the great alcine 
family retain the same uncouth physical char- 
acteristics, suggestive of prehistoric times and 
types, in a remarkably close degree. Fossil remains 
of elk have been found in many parts of Europe. 
They show that the type, both in respect to body 
and antlers, has remained practically constant 
through thousands of years, and down to the 
present day. This indicates that the race in all 
ages has been able by migration to seek the climate 
and the food which its nature demanded. Thus 
while climate and the character of vegetation have 
changed, the elk and the moose themselves have 
survived practically without change. 

Most of the animals which the elk encountered 
in their wanderings during the earlier ages which 
followed their advent in Europe, unable to adapt 
themselves to new conditions by migration, have 
become extinct, or have survived In a multiplicity 
of different species greatly changed from the parent 
stock. The elk and the moose, however, have 
changed but little since together they cropped 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 273 

the tender twigs of the willow in the Asiatic forests. 
Furthermore, though separated in habitat since 
long before the first pages of history were written, 
by the submersion of the neck of land which once 
connected Asia and America at Bering Strait, 
the elk and the moose are today so alike in physical 




An Asiatic Rock-Carving 

characteristics and in habits that many writers 
refuse to consider them even different species 
of the same family. 

Perhaps the earliest extant portrait of the elk 

is one executed by a prehistoric artist in the valley 

of the Ussuri, on the Russo-Chinese frontier, not 

far from the Sea of Japan. This region, it is 

believed, was the elk's ancestral home. The 

picture is a rock-carving. The animal as the 
18 



274 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

ancient draftsman represented him has short legs, 
it is true, and conventional decoration on his 
body, but the antlers make the identity of the 
species unmistakable.^ 

The first appearance of the elk in history is in 
Caesar's Gallic War. "There are also animals," 
writes Caesar, "which are called alces. . . . They 
have legs without Joints and ligatures; nor do 
they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they 
have been thrown down by any accident, can they 
raise or lift themselves up. Trees serve them as 
beds. They lean themselves against them, and 
thus reclining only slightly they take their rest. 
When the hunters have discovered from the tracks 
of these animals whither they are accustomed to 
go, they either undermine all the trees at the roots, 
or cut into them so far that the upper part of 
the trees may appear to be left standing. When 
they have leaned upon them, according to their 
habit, they knock down by their weight the un- 
supported trees, and fall down themselves along 
with them."3 

'See Meyers, Grosses Konversations-Lexikon (Leipsic, 1905), under 
"Kunst der Naturvolker." 

3 " Sunt item quce appellantur alces. . . . Crura sine nodis articulisque 
hahent; neque guietis causa procumhunt, neque, si quo adflictce casu conci' 
derunt, erigere sese ac suhlevare possunt. His sunt arbores pro cubilibus; 
ad eas se adplicant atque ita paulum modo reclinatce quietem capiunt. 
Quarum ex vestigiis cum est animadversum a venatoribus quo se recipere 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 275 

Caesar wrote b.c. 53, while on his second expedi- 
tion into the land of the Germani. He was 
describing the animals found in the great Hercynian 
forest of southern and central Germany. More 
than a hundred years later Pliny gave a similar 
description, but mentioned only the hind legs as 
jointless, and added: ^'Its upper lip is extremely 
large, for which reason it is obliged to go backward 
when grazing; otherwise, by moving forward, the 
lip would get doubled up.""* 

Gladiatorial spectacles were given In the Colos- 
seum at Rome for nearly four hundred years 
following its dedication, a.d. 80. The dedicatory 
games continued for nearly one hundred days, 
and it is said that five thousand wild beasts were 
slaughtered in the arena during these opening 
festivities. Julius Capitolinus, in the Histories 
Augustcs, relates that at the close of the reign of the 
Emperor Gordianus III., in the year 244 of our 
era, there were exhibited in Rome 32 elephants, 
10 elk, 10 tigers, 60 tame lions, 30 tame leopards, 
10 hyenas, i hippopotamus, i rhinoceros, 10 
giraffes, 20 zebras, 40 wild horses, and numberless 

consuerint, omnes eo loco aut ah radicibus subruunt aut accidunt arbores, 
tantum ut summa species earuni stantium relinquatur. Hue cum se 
consuetudine reclinaverunt, infirmas arbores pondere adfligunt atque una 
ipscB concidunt." — De Bella Callico, book vi., chap, xxvii. 
* Naturalis Historia, book viii,, chap. xv. 



276 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

other animals of various sorts, and that these 
beasts, with looo gladiators, took part in the 
games in the great arena. What part the ten elk 
played in these gory spectacles Capitolinus does not 
tell us. Whether they fought with horns or with 
hoofs, against wild beasts or against equally savage 
men, we have no means of knowing, but let us 
hope that they gave a good account of themselves.^ 

In the fifth and sixth centuries of our era elk 
were rare in France, and they disappeared entirely 
before the tenth century. They disappeared in 
South Germany in the ninth century, but presum- 
ably were found on the lower Rhine somewhat 
later, for prohibitions against elk hunting in 
certain territory there were issued as late as 
1025. Elk were found in Switzerland as late as 
the Middle Ages.^ 

Beneath one of the picturesque houses, five 
centuries old, for which Nuremberg is famous is a 
restaurant occupying a quaint vaulted cellar,^ 
and reached from the street by a long and steep 
flight of stairs. I sat there on one occasion eating 
my supper, and as I did so I studied a beautiful 
carved elk head of wood, crowned by natural 
antlers of moderate size, which graced the opposite 

s See also Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xii. 
'Brockhaus, Konversations-Lexikon, under "Elentier." 
1 The Nassauer Keller. 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 



277 



wall. The presence of such antlers so far from the 
elk's range excited my curiosity, so I questioned 
the proprietor. 

"Where did those antlers come from?" I asked. 

"0, right near the city," he replied. 

"Near Nuremberg?" I asked in surprise. 

"Certainly," said he. 




The Elk According to Miinster (1554) 

"But," I objected, "there are no elk anywhere 
in Bavaria!" 

"0, but this head has been here for several 
hundred years!" said the proprietor, and I realized 
again that I was in a land with a much longer 
history than our America. 



278 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



Descriptions of the elk by ancient writers afford 
as amusing reading as descriptions of the moose 
by early travelers in America. Sebastian Miinster, 
in his Cosmography, a Latin folio published in 




Aldrovandus's Female Elk (162 1) 

1554, describes among the animals of Prussia the 
elk. They are as large as an ass, or a medium- 
sized horse, he says; their hoofs are used in cases 
of severe sickness; their skin is so tough that it Is 
not possible to pierce or cut through it; they have 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 



279 



long and weak legs, are naturally stupid, and a boy- 
can drive them where he will with a switch, but 
they cannot be made to carry a load on their back.^ 




Head of Male Elk (Aldrovandus, 1621) 



Aldrovandus, a writer on natural history, and 
professor in the university at Bologna, treats of 
the elk at considerable length. He quotes freely 
from all the writers who had given accounts of the 
elk, from Caesar down to his own day, but his 

* Cosmographia UniversalisKBasel, 1554), pp. 784-785. 



280 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

illustrations were his own. Like other writers 
of that period he uses the word onager^ or "wild 
ass," as well as alces, to describe the elk. Certainly 
the female in his picture has a sufficiently asinine 
appearance to justify the name.^ The antlers 
of his male elk seem to belong to the cactus 
family. 

Long after Miinster and Aldrovandus, Rt.- 
Rev. Erich Pontoppidan, "bishop of Bergen in 
Norway, and member of the Royal Academy of 
Sciences at Copenhagen," in his Natural History of 
Norway, describes and pictures the elk. "They 
are very long-legged," he writes, "insomuch that 
a man may stand upright under their belly."'° 
This was probably the largest land animal in Nor- 
way. The largest creature in Norwegian waters, 
according to Pontoppidan, was the sea serpent, 
which he describes on the testimony of credible 
witnesses as being 600 feet long, and which had 
been seen to raise Its head from the water as 
high as the main-top of a ship." And yet the 
learned bishop was not of a credulous disposi- 
tion. He tells us so at considerable length in his 
preface. 

9 Quadrupedum Omnium Bisulcorum Historia (Bonn, 1621), p. 870. 
' " Natural History of Norway, translated from the Danish (London, 
1755). part ii., p. 10. 
" Part ii., p. 199. 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 281 

Elk survived much later in northern Germany 
than in southern. Johann Sigismund, margrave 
of Brandenburg, according to official records 
which are still preserved, killed 11,598 game 
animals between 1612 and 1619, and of these 112 
were elk." But the numbers of elk in northern 
Germany were reduced by the encroachments of 
agriculture, by hunting, and by disease. In 
Saxony they resisted extinction, however, until 
1746, in Galicia until 1760, and in Silesia until 
1776. When finally the cry was raised that they 
were causing injury to the forests by eating the 
twigs of saplings, systematic slaughter was under- 
taken. This resulted about 1830 in the death of 
the last elk in the province of West Prussia. 
Since that time the only foothold of the elk in 
Germany has been in East Prussia, and here, 
rigidly protected, a comparatively small number 
still survive. Aside from these the only elk now 
to be found in Europe are in Russia and in the 
Scandinavian Peninsula. 

We have no reason to suppose that moose in their 
American home have deteriorated in size since the 
time of Champlain, and as little to think that the 
elk today are smaller than those which the royal 

'^ J. G. Bujack, in Preussische Provinzial-Bldtler, vol. xxi. (Konigs- 
berg, 1839), p. 237. 



282 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

Brandenburger killed 300 years ago. Dr. Paul 
Dahms of Dantzic states that the heaviest elk in 
Johann Siglsmund's ample game bag weighed 
530 kg. (1166 pounds) when killed in 161 8, and 
that elk as heavy as this are now not uncommon 
in Europe." 

Buffon, the eminent French naturalist, had 
little chance to study the elk, although friends in 
America sent him moose antlers, skeletons, and 
skins. In March, 1784, however, he had an 
opportunity to study and picture a living elk 
which was exhibited at the fair of St. Germain, 
near Paris. This animal was taken, the showman 
said, fifty leagues beyond Moscow, and was less 
than three years old at the time when Buffon saw 
him. 

The naturalist had a steel engraving of this elk 
made to illustrate his Natural History. He ex- 
plains the strange position of the horns with ref- 
erence to the head — without, however, being 
conscious that an explanation was needed — when he 
says that the picture was made in March, and that 
the horns had been cast early in the previous 
January. The honest showman declared that the 
cast antlers were those of this two-year-old elk, 

^^"Ehemalige Verbreitung, Aussterben, und Volkskundliche Bezieh- 
ungen des Elches in Westpreiissen," in Globus, a magazine of geography 
and ethnology, vol. Ixxiv., p. 243 (Brunswick, Germany, Oct. 15, 1898). 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 283 




Buffon's Elk 



Ti^HA.ni/t .^. 



284 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

and Buffon caused them to be represented in the 
engraving.^'* 

Prior to the Revolution of 1848 there were from 
300 to 400 elk in the forest of Ibenhorst, compris- 
ing about twenty-four square miles, in East Prus- 
sia. This forest lies near the mouth of the Memel, 
close to the Russian boundary. During the 
brief season when all legal restraint was relaxed 
owing to the Revolution the peasants reveled in 
their new-found freedom, and in one season re- 
duced the number of elk in the Ibenhorst preserve 
to sixteen. The price of elk meat at that time 
fell to five Pfennige a pound {i}i cents). Rigid 
protection, supplemented by the introduction of 
Swedish stock in the early '60s, saved the day, 
however, and in 1874 Ibenhorst and the neighboring 
minor preserves contained 136 elk. The number 
has since increased to about 1000.^^ 

Elk Products in the Arts. — In the Middle Ages 
elk skin was considered bullet proof — and perhaps 
two or three thicknesses, properly tanned, would 
have been impenetrable by the pistol balls of that 
day. Elk-skin jackets were often made for soldiers' 
wear. They would have the advantage of plia- 

^*'QvL^on,Histoire Naturelle, Generate el Particuliere, edited by Sonnini, 
(Paris, Van XI [1802-03]), vol. xxx., pp. 92, 145. 

»s Meyers, Grosses Konversalions'Lexikon, supplement for 1910-11. 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 285 

billty, which a steel breastplate would not possess. 
Gustavus Adolphus wore a doublet of elk skin at 
the battle of Liitzen in 1632, and the garment 
is now displayed in the museum of the artillery 
arsenal in Vienna. Unfortunately for the Swedish 
king, however, the leather failed to stop an Im- 
perialist bullet, and the great soldier died in the 
moment of victory. 

Paul I., Czar of Russia, in the closing years of the 
eighteenth century ordered that his cavalry be 
equipped with elk-skin breeches, in consequence 
of which a relentless war was waged on the elk 
of some portions of the empire. To this fact is 
ascribed the extermination of the elk in Poland.'^ 

The people of the Amur district of eastern 
Siberia were in ancient times required to pay 
tribute to the Chinese in elk skins, and Russia 
more recently required tribute in this material to 
be paid by subjugated Asiatic peoples. Russia 
in turn was on some occasions compelled to pay 
war indemnity to Austria, not In money, but by 
delivering many hundred wagon-loads of the skins 
of elk.'' In fact, the elk's jacket was his one 
possession which the European trader formerly 



'* Dahms, Globus, vol. Ixxiv., p. 221 (Oct. 8, 1898). 
'7 Prof. Wilhelm Blasius, in Dombrowski's Allgemeine Encyklopddie 
der Forst- und Jagdwissenschaften (Vienna, 1888), vol. iii., p. 275. 



286 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

especially coveted. Oil-tanned it was highly- 
prized for clothing; slings of elk skin served to hurl 
stones and other missiles in medieval battles; 
the skin of the legs, removed without splitting, 
was used for gun sheaths and pouches for various 
purposes. 

Elk hair was formerly well esteemed by up- 
holsterers, being deemed intermediate between 
the hair of horses and of cattle in quality. Cush- 
ions were filled with it, the covering being of the 
skin of the same species of animals, and saddles 
covered with elk skin and padded with elk hair 
were In common use In an age when the lack of 
roads adapted for wheeled vehicles raised the 
saddle into a position of great Importance. 

Elk antlers were a common decoration for the 
gables of old-time palaces and hunting lodges, and 
for the gateways of parks ; from the antlers clever 
artificers fashioned chandeliers and articles of 
furniture; from them skilled lathe-workers and 
carvers made the handles of knives and a multi- 
plicity of utensils, and from fragments otherwise 
unused was produced the glue of the cabinet 
makers. 

The hoofs of elk were in demand in medicine, 
and If only the hoof of the left hind foot possessed 
therapeutic value, there were still three other 



THE ELK, PAST AND PRESENT 287 

hoofs available to be transmuted into combs, 
cups, bracelets, etc. The bones, too, had their 
uses. They were very hard and very white, and 
many times purchasers of ivory wares were in- 
debted to the elk for furnishing the raw material. 
From the fat of the elk were produced excellent 
candles.^* 

'* The monographs of both Dahms and Blasius discuss at considerable 
length the ancient commercial uses of materials derived from the elk. 



CHAPTER XIV 

RANGE OF THE ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA^ 

On the north the elk's range in Asia and Europe 
is bounded practically by the timber line. The 
animals are found in a limited area in the eastern- 
most extremity of Siberia, near Bering Strait, 
but are lacking in Kamchatka, and on the broad 
tundra farther north. They are abundant in 
the Lena valley, and are found in the valleys of 
other rivers which flow into the Arctic Ocean, their 
range on the Lena and at several other Siberian 
points extending north of the Arctic Circle. 

At the Ural range, where Asiatic and European 
Russia meet, the northern limit of the elk's range 
is at about the 63 d parallel of latitude. Thence 
westward the line crosses Russia and Finland near 
the 626. and 63 d parallels. A few elk also are 
said to be found in southern Lapland, beyond the 
Arctic Circle. In the Scandinavian Peninsula 
their northern limit is at about 66° 30'. 

' See map at page 32. 

288 



RANGE OF ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA 289 

In the extreme east the southern boundary of 
the elk's range begins at the Sea of Japan, in the 
vicinity of Vladivostok. The line crosses Man- 
churia, passes near the southern extremity of 
Lake Baikal, then crosses northern Mongolia, and 
reaches the Altai mountain range. In general, 
the mountain ranges which form the water-shed 
between the streams flowing into the Arctic Ocean 
and those flowing into the Pacific, mark the south- 
ern boundary of the elk's Asiatic range. From the 
Altai Mountains to the Ural range this southern 
boundary line trends north of west, crossing into 
Europe at about the 57th parallel. 

The southern boundary of the elk's range crosses 

European Russia in an irregular line, trending 

south of west, and reaching, in the government 

of Volhynia in West Russia, at about the 51st 

parallel, the southernmost point to which It extends 

in Europe. Some centuries ago the forest areas of 

Russia extended farther south than they do 

today. As the forests were destroyed the elk 

retreated northward, but since 1850 there has 

been a marked tendency to reoccupy some of this 

territory once abandoned. Fr. Th. Koppen, a 

Russian writer, declares that no similar instance 

is known where any great mammal, having once 

yielded to the advance of agriculture, has spread 
19 



290 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

out and multiplied again in territory which it had 
deserted.^ Elk are found in the German province 
of East Prussia, in all the Baltic provinces of the 
Russian Empire, and in Finland. They inhabit 
also in considerable numbers the extensive moun- 
tainous areas of Scandinavia, the southern bound- 
ary of their range in Sweden being near the 57th 
parallel. 

Norway, Sweden, and Russia are the hunting 
grounds for elk in Europe. Few foreigners visit 
Russia in quest of game, however, while many 
Englishmen and Germans have been in the habit 
of leasing hunting privileges in the Scandinavian 
Peninsula. In the eastern provinces of southern 
Norway, especially the district of Drontheim, the 
great forests of deciduous trees, abounding in 
mountain ash, harbor many elk, and the number 
is believed to be increasing, thanks to protective 
legislation.^ 

"It is an undoubted fact," wrote the late Sir 
Henry Pottinger, "that in the last fifty years — 
in Norway, at least — their number has greatly 

' Die Verhreitung des Elentiers im Europaischen Russland, published 
by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 1883. Con- 
cerning the limits of the elk's range in European and Asiatic Russia the 
present writer has accepted in general the statements of Martenson in 
Der Elch (Riga, 1903), pp. 89-101. 

J Hesketh Prichard in Blackwood's Magazuie, July, 1906, 



RANGE OF ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA 291 

increased, for In the fifties, as the writer can testify, 
they were seldom seen or heard of In many districts 
where they are now not Infrequent. ... In 
Norway It Is forbidden, under a heavy penalty, 
to kill more than a single elk, bull or cow, on each 
farm or registered division of land. . . . The 
shooting of calves Is strictly forbidden."* In 1894 
Pottlnger wrote: "Altogether about 850 elk on 
the average are killed yearly in Norway, and In 
Sweden rather more than double the number."^ 
Increased restrictions In Sweden have reduced 
the number killed, while In Norway an Increase 
Is noted. Martenson, quoting statements fur- 
nished by the Norwegian Hunting and Fishing 
Association, wrote In 1903 that the annual kill In 
Sweden was 1300 or 1400 elk, against 900 to 1000 
in Norway.^ 

Seeking Information industriously from all avail- 
able sources, Martenson estimated the number 
of elk in all portions of his European and Asiatic 
range. Scandinavia he credits with from 8000 to 
10,000 elk, and this estimate, in view of the num- 
bers annually killed, would seem to be sufficiently 
conservative. In Finland he notes a marked 



* Encyclopedia of Sport and Games (London, 1911), vol. ii., p.i77- 
s Big Game Shooting (Badminton Library), vol. ii., p. 125. 
' Ubi supra, p. 90. 



292 THE OLD-fVORLD ELK 

increase in numbers, due, however, to greatly 
increased restrictions in hunting privileges — re- 
strictions made necessary by the diminishing 
numbers of elk thirty or forty years ago. To 
Livonia, his home province, Martenson credits 
1600 to 1800 elk. To Esthonia, on the north, he 
credits 500 or 600; to Courland, on the south, 800 
or 1000. But the elk of the Baltic provinces are 
smaller than those of Scandinavia, and much 
smaller than those of eastern Russia and Siberia. 

With a view to estimating the number of elk in 
European and Asiatic Russia, Martenson studied 
the reports from the principal fur and hide markets 
of the empire. *' According to returns gathered 
by N. Turkin and others," he writes, **the number 
of skins of wild animals taken yearly in Russia 
amounts to about 50,000,000, of which from 
250,000 to 300,000 are elk." If we accept these 
figures, we will not wonder when Mr. Martenson 
adds the estimate that the number of elk in the 
entire Russian Empire is at least 2,000,000.' 

The city of the czars, newly christened Petro- 
grad, was no doubt once the home of the elk. 
One of the islands on which the city is built, 
Wassilij-Ostrow, was formerly known by the 
Finnish name Hirwi-Saari, or elk island. And 

7 Ubi supra, pp. 166-167. 



RANGE OF ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA 293 

today hunters living in Petrograd can reach good 
elk preserves within two or three hours' journey 
from the capital by rail. In the government of 
Moscow, too, elk are found in fair numbers, 
although sixty years ago they were practically 
unknown in that region. 

The number of elk in East Prussia has increased 
rapidly since the last decade of the last century. 
By the construction of dikes the frequent floods 
in the delta of the Memel have been prevented, 
and the elk have profited by the improved forest 
conditions which have resulted. In 1906 there 
were about 720 elk in the province, practically all 
occupying the small triangle bounded on the 
northeast and northwest by the Russian frontier 
and the Baltic Sea respectively, and bounded on the 
south by the Pregel River. It was found necessary 
to kill an increasing number yearly in the interest 
of forest conservation.^ Five years later there 
were said to be about 1000 elk in the province.^ 
According to Dr. Fritz Skrowronnek twenty-five 
or thirty elk are killed yearly in the East Prussian 
preserves by the Kaiser and other privdeged 
hunters. Dr. Skrowronnek tells of elk drives on 

8 Der Mensch und die Erde (Berlin, 1906), vol. i., p. 3H- 

9 Meyers, Grosses Konversaiions-Lexikon, supplement for 1910-11. 



294 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

two successive days in 1904 in which "der oberste 
Jagdherr'* killed one small elk each day. His 
army of beaters numbered 300 men. While still- 
hunting, on foot and by boat, on the same visit to 
East Prussia, the Kaiser saw no game.^° 

Elk occasionally migrate from Russia into Ger- 
man territory. Skrowronnek tells of such an 
instance, in 1904, when many Russian elk were 
driven by a forest fire from their native cover, and 
took refuge in the woods beside the German Memel. 
And an English woman, instructor of the Kaiser's 
daughter, relates how an elk, migrating from 
Russia, was reported as being seen in the imperial 
hunting domain of Rominten in East Prussia seven 
or eight years ago. "The Kaiser ordered out all 
the automobiles and carriages," she wrote, "and 
that every available person was to serve as beater. 
Her Majesty and the Princess and the ladies 
being specially invited in that capacity. . . . 

" The car flew along, the Emperor talking volubly 
about the Elch and its habits, and his hopes of 
slaying the confiding creature; and at last we were 
deposited about eight miles from home on a rather 
squelchy, marshy piece of ground, where we were 
met by Baron von Sternburg and commanded to 
follow him in perfect silence, the Emperor mean- 

'° Lustiges Weidwerk (Berlin, 1905), pp. 13, 79. 



RANGE OF ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA 295 

time going on in the car in a different direction. 
After a long damp walk we were all posted at 
intervals of about a hundred yards along a thick 
alley of pines, with whispered instructions to stay 
where we were and prevent the quarry from 
breaking through, although we all had grave 
doubts as to our ability to prevent any animal as 
large as a moose from doing anything it felt In- 
clined. I went up to the gentleman on my left 
and whisperlngly asked what methods I must 
employ supposing the mighty beast suddenly 
appeared in front of me, and he Indicated a feeble 
wagging of the hands as being likely to turn It 
back in the direction of the Emperor's rifle."" 

But the "moose" escaped back to Russian 
territory, close at hand. 

In view of the enemies which the elk has had to 
encounter, and the agricultural Improvements 
which have deprived him of subsistence In many 
portions of his ancient range, and the lack of 
legislation, and excess of legislation, which have 
imperiled his existence, It Is remarkable that 
the elk of Scandinavia should thrive as he does 
today. Accusing the elk of damaging the crops, 

" Memories of the Kaiser's Court, by Anne Topham (N. Y., 1914), 
pp. 254-255. 



296 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

the ancient law-makers of West Gothland (south- 
ern Sweden) classed him with the fox, the wolf, 
the lynx, and the bear as a noxious animal, and a 
price was placed on his head." 

Outlawed by those who in a later age would have 
given him legal protection, and preyed upon by the 
wolf-packs of only seventy or eighty years ago, the 
numbers were so reduced in Sweden and Norway 
that it was necessary to wage systematic warfare 
on the wolves and prohibit killing the elk at any 
season, save that every tenth year elk might be 
hunted for a brief period under rigid limitations. 
There is now a short open season each fall, the 
shooting season in Norway, according to the 
latest information at hand, being the last twenty- 
one days in September. 

In Russia *' there are strict laws protecting hinds 
[females], enforced by a fine of one hundred 
roubles for killing each one, but the bulls are 
mercilessly destroyed without regard to age or size; 
hence fine palmated horns are growing very scarce 
in the neighborhood of big towns, where numerous 
shooting clubs exist. The open season lasts from 
the end of August till the 31st of Decem.ber.''^^ 

*' Lloyd, Scandinavian Adventures, vol. ii., p. 93. 
'sE. Demidofi, Prince San Donato, in Sport in Europe (London, 
1901), p. 389. 



RANGE OF ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA 297 

The right to hunt in Russia is vested in the 
land owner, but he is generally required to pay a 
moderate license fee. In a large portion of the 
northern and eastern elk territory of European 
Russia, however, the residents are not required 
to pay the hunting tax. This exemption was made 
in consideration of the poverty of many of the 
people. The privilege of hunting on public lands 
in these sections was also easily obtained. The 
beneficiaries of these exemptions and privileges at 
once concluded that they were subject to no 
legal restrictions, and a class of idlers became 
professional hunters, destroying game with 
ruthless hand. These conditions, in conjunction 
with improved firearms, and an increasing number 
of forest fires, caused a marked decrease in the 
amount of game in many portions of the Russian 
elk range.^"^ Whether more recent legislation has 
bettered these conditions the author is unable to 
say. 

Until quite modern times hunting in most parts 
of Europe was a special prerogative of royalty and 
the nobility. Even today most of the best terri- 
tory is in the hands of wealthy individuals who 
jealously guard their exclusive hunting privileges. 
These conditions have always produced a large 

'^Martenson, pp. 164-165. 



298 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

class of poachers, in dealing with whom are found 
the most serious problems which the owners of 
game preserves have to meet. The elk, like 
the timber, constitute a portion of the value 
of a landed estate, and both portions of the 
assets are guarded from theft at considerable 
expense by the maintenance of a large force 
of men. 

The privilege of hunting Is often leased in 
Russia to sportsmen In the cities. In such cases 
the successful hunter Is entitled only to the head 
and a certain small piece of meat, the rest of the 
meat, the hide, feet, etc., remaining the property 
of the owner of the land where the elk was killed.'^ 
In Norway also "the sportsman's share of any 
animal he kills is only the head with the head-skin, 
with twenty kilos of elk-beef; the remainder of 
the carcass goes to the owner of the farm on 
which the elk is first sprung, whether actually 
killed upon it or over the boundary upon the 
land of his neighbor."'^ There is no bag limit In 
Norway, but the hunter may not take more than 
one elk in a herd If several are found together. 
The non-resident license fee Is loo crowns (^27).'^ 

^s Kapherr, Das Elchwild (Berlin, 1908), p. 74. 
'* Prichard, ubi supra. 

'7 Hiorth, Elch- und Schneehuhnjagd in Norwegen (Christiania, 19 10), 
pp. 6, 7- 



RANGE OF ELK IN EUROPE AND ASIA 299 

By leasing the hunting privileges of several farms 
the sportsman may kill a number of elk in a 
season, and the sport is not necessarily very ex- 
pensive. 



CHAPTER XV 

TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 

Elk have been subjects of closer observation in 
many portions of their European range than have 
the moose in America. The precise knowledge 
of the elk's traits and habits which might be 
expected from this fact is nevertheless lacking. 

In respect to his size writers are hopelessly out of 
accord, owing to the lack of an accepted rule for 
ascertaining dimensions. Of one fact there can 
be no doubt, however — the elk of average size is 
smaller than the average moose. Sir Henry 
Pottlnger, who for six years leased preserves In 
Sweden and Norway and hunted elk with much 
success, gave the height at the withers of the aver- 
age full-grown Scandinavian elk as 68 or 69 inches, 
and the girth as 83 or 84 inches.^ The live weight 
he was unable to ascertain. Russian writers 
describe elk weighing, undrawn, from 1075 to iioo 
pounds, but these they admit are exceedingly rare. 

' Big Game Shooting (London, 1894), vol. ii., p. 130. 

300 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 301 

The age usually attained by the elk is stated by 
most writers to be from 16 to 20 years. Marten- 
son, however, credits the elk with sometimes 
attaining an age of from 30 to 36 years. He 
cites no specific instance where a specimen was 
known to have reached such an age, but draws 
his conclusion largely from a formula of zoologists 
that among mammals the average attainable age 
is seven times the period required to attain full 
growth. Martenson tells of a female elk in the 
forest of Ibenhorst which was easily identified by 
reason of the loss of the left eye and by other 
marks. Yearly from 1854 to 1865 she bore two 
calves, then was barren for three years, but in 1869 
and 1870 bore one calf each year. "She was 
accordingly at least twenty years old in 1870, but 
showed at that time no signs of old age."'' 

Dr. Blasius, while quoting the same formula, 
gives the length of life of the elk as only from 16 to 
20 years. He adds that while the life of the elk Is 
relatively shorter than that of most mammals, 
this condition is offset by the elk's superiority 
with respect to producing young.^ In the case of 
most species of deer a single fawn is born each 
season, but the female elk commonly bears two 

' Martenson, Der Elch (Riga, 1903), pp. 15-16. 

3 Ubisupra,p.2'jT). 



302 THE OtD-JVORLD ELK 

calves. Other zoologists state that the maximum 
attainable life of most mammals is seven times the 
time required to reach maturity, not seven times 
the period spent in attaining full growth. Moose 
are believed to be capable of reproduction when 2^ 
years old, though not fully grown, and hence the 
zoologist would consider them mature at that age. 
Under this formula, therefore, their limit of life 
would be less than 20 years. 

The rutting season of the elk is generally some- 
what earlier than in the case of the moose. In 
East Prussia and the Baltic provinces of Russia 
it begins late in August and continues until the 
last of September. In Scandinavia and Asiatic 
Russia, however, it begins about the middle of 
September and continues until the middle of 
October. Antlers are shed much earlier too in 
western Russia. Bulls in their prime drop their 
antlers in November on the east shore of the Baltic, 
while in the rest of the elk territory of Europe and 
Asia they carry them a month or more later. 

In the Baltic provinces elk are found in larger 
herds than is usual with the moose. Often fifteen, 
or even more, are found together, and in the 
rutting season they recognize the leadership of a 
strong bull, especially if he is armed with formidable 
antlers, and shows a disposition to use them to 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 303 

enforce his supremacy. The theory that elk are 
monogamous has almost no adherents in Europe. 
Exciting stories are told by Russian writers of fatal 
encounters between bulls in the rutting season. 
A single powerful bull will often remain in the 
company of several cows through the season, and 
succeed in keeping all rivals at a distance, though 
not without many bloody contests. The com- 
bativeness of cows in protecting their young from 
apprehended molestation by men is frequently 
mentioned by Kapherr. 

The elk seems to show a greater fondness for 
low moist ground in the Baltic provinces, and in 
western Russia generally, than in most of his 
range. The Germans, indeed, sometimes speak of 
him as the Moorhirsch, or Sumpfhirsch, meaning 
"marsh stag." If he frequents such territory 
more than the moose of America do, it is probably 
because he is less molested there, and better fed, 
than in the comparatively restricted uplands 
which are left available for his use. He seems to 
be even more fond of the water than his American 
relative. According to Shrowronnek the elk of 
East Prussia not infrequently swim across the 
Kurisches Haff, a distance of twenty kilometers 
(more than twelve miles). 

The food of the elk is drawn from the same wide 



304 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

variety of trees, shrubs, and water plants as in the 
case of the moose. 

In both European and Asiatic Russia it has been 
observed that elk make periodic migrations — 
perhaps in imitation of their neighbors the reindeer. 
Many of these journeys between the uplands and 
the lowlands are short, and have no more signifi- 
cance than the movements of moose in America in 
anticipation of a winter of deep snow. Siberian 
elk, however, are said to make annual journeys at 
the end of winter from the forest cover of the 
southern mountains to the broad open tundra 
of the north, covering 400 or 500 miles. Persecu- 
tion by insects and parasites is believed to have as 
much to do with these movements as questions of 
forage.'* 

A Russian naturalist, Sabanejeff, made close 
observations of the annual migrations of great herds 
of elk from the west side of the Ural range, north 
of the 60th parallel, across the mountains in a 
southeasterly direction through six degrees of 
latitude. The journey toward the southeast be- 
gins in September, in anticipation of the deep 
snows. In the winter refuge of these elk, south- 
east of Ekaterinburg, the season of snow is much 

* Martenson, ubi supra, p. 105. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 305 

shorter, and its depth much less. It has been 
observed that in mild winters the migrating 
herds are much smaller than in seasons of greater 
snowfall. On both sides of the mountain range 
many elk are victims of slaughter during these 
semi-annual pilgrimages, at the hands of peasant 
hunters.^ Periodical migrations of the sort here 
described are unknown among the moose of 
America. 

We cannot wonder that the German name of the 
elk was interpreted as meaning "misery," or that 
Prof. Oken denominated the animal " ein melan- 
cholisches Tier,"^ when we read of the diseases and 
parasites which attack him. Blasius says that 
about every tenth year elk suffer seriously from 
malignant anthrax {mihbrand)^ rinderpest, and 
scour, traceable perhaps to the effects of seasons of 
drouth; that they are subject to pulmonary and 
other diseases to which ruminants generally are 
exposed; and that many sorts of parasites afflict 
them, often with serious results.^ In 175 1 all the 
elk on the great island of Oesel in the Baltic Sea 
died of milzbrand; in 1752 the disease carried off 

s Martenson, p. 100. 

^ AUgemeine Naturgeschichte fiir alle Stdnde (Stuttgart, 1 838), vol. 
vii.,p. 1315. 

7 Ubi supra, p. 278. 

20 



3o6 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

nearly all the elk of Courland, as well as many 
domestic cattle, and in more recent years Livonia 
and East Prussia lost many animals from the same 
cause. ^ 

Kapherr describes among other insect pests 
which attack the elk an "elk fly" {Ornithobia 
pallida) which torments the animals severely, 
especially in summer and early fall. The same 
insect attacks men. It is like a louse, and is with 
difficulty combed from the hair, while the sting 
causes serious inflammation. Elk hunters in 
Russia are advised to wear their hair cut short, for 
this reason.^ These and many other species of 
ticks and parasitic insects which persecute the 
elk are annoying, but not dangerous to the life of 
the animals. They first secure a lodgment in 
the hair, and then attack the skin and suck the 
blood. It is said the moose birds, or Canada 
jays, in America sometimes come to the relief 
of the moose by catching and devouring such 
insects. 

The worst insect pests with which elk have to 
contend are certain varieties of bot-flies. These 
include the Cephenomyia ulrichii and Pharyngomyia 
picta. The first of these, commonly called Hum' 

* Kapherr, Das Elchwild (BeTlLn, 1908), pp. 44, 50. 
9 Ubi supra, p. 36. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 307 

melfliegen, are said to be known in America/" 
The winged females of these pests surround and 
torment the elk in the spring, and deposit their 
larvae in his nostrils, causing inflammation. The 
larvae spread through the nose and throat, and 
even the larynx, interfering with the victim's 
breathing and with swallowing. When fully grown 
(at the expense of the elk, of course), these para- 
sites leave their host by the nostrils or mouth, 
and change into their chrysalis form in the earth. 
If in poor physical condition, elk are not infre- 
quently killed by this agency. In the southern 
portions of the elk's European range these attacks 
seem to be most frequent. The presence of these 
parasites is generally indicated by the elk coughing, 
which is noticed early in March. Dissection of 
victims often discloses masses of the maggots in 
the windpipe. 

Many efforts have been made to domesticate 
the elk, and with varying degrees of success. 
" In the reign of Charles IX. [of Sweden] elk were 
made use of for the purpose of conveying couriers, 
and were capable of accomplishing thirty-six 

'» Martenson, p. 47. JfumweZ/iege may be translated "drone-fly"; 
it is not, however, the common drone-fly of America (Eristalis tenax). 
The latter is of the family of SyrphidcB, while the bot-flies are of the 
family of CEstridce. 



3oS 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



Swedish (about 234 English) miles in a day, when 
attached to a sledge."" The seven-years' reign of 
Charles IX. ended in 161 1. The use of elk in 
harness In Sweden and Norway Is said to have 
extended over two or three centuries. 




Dc onagris,reu alcibusjin vi 

currcntibus. j 

CAP. XXX: 



ONag 
tffsii 
ciecftapuj 
ximc ultra- 
riores parti 
plagamMj 
cftudineU^ 
gium tame 
nefcilicccj 
longefup^ 
tctrOprodi] 



micis quam ocyrsimereudandis.Famisctenim,3 
haecbeftiajUtdiemnodiemcpiramenrarpatradu; 

Sledge Drawn by Elk (Magnus, 1555) 



Olaus Magnus, Archbishop of Upsala, In his 
History 0} the Northern Peoples, tells of the use of 
the elk as a draft animal in Scandinavia. "In 
Sweden," he writes, "great speed is made by wild 
asses, or elk, on the snow-covered ice, especially 
beyond the royal city of Holmen, toward the 

" Jardine, Naturalists' Library (Edinburgh, 1835), vol. xxi., p. 131. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 309 

extreme north. Toward the south, although they 
are found in large numbers in the great forests, 
still, on account of a royal edict they are not used, 
lest traitors employ them, by reason of their speed, 
which greatly exceeds the speed of horses, to expose 
the interior of the kingdom to the enemy. This 
beast endures hunger, thirst, and work most 
patiently, so that in a day and a night he is able 
to accomplish by running the great distance of 
200 Italian miles, without food."^"* 

Concerning the use of elk as draft animals in 
Russia we have little information. A seventeenth- 
century ordinance of the city of Dorpat, in Livonia, 
forbade such use of the elk within the city limits 
— presumably to avoid frightening horses. ^^ 

According to Blasius repeated efforts to raise 
elk in captivity in parks in various German cities 
have yielded unsatisfactory results. They have 
lived from one to four years at most. But Russian 
experiments have been more successful. 

A writer in Priroda i Ochota, a periodical de- 
voted to hunting, published in Moscow, related his 
experience with two elk which were born wild, 
but which came into his possession June 8, 1870, as 

"De Gentihus Septentrionalibus (Basel, 1567), p. 484. This history 
was originally published in Rome in 1555, while the author was living 
in Italy, practically in exile because of the Reformation. 

'3 Martenson, ubi supra, p. 70. 



310 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

young calves. For the first day or two they nursed 
greedily from a bottle, he said, and then were 
given over at meal times to a cow whose calf had 
been taken from her. Soon the animals became 
accustomed to each other, and when, five months 
later, the two elk were taken from their foster 
mother the cow seemed quite distressed at their 
loss. 

After the first fortnight various bitter weeds 
and twigs of mountain ash, aspen, and willow were 
offered to the two calves, to learn their taste ; they 
were also gradually taught to eat oatmeal in milk. 
When three months old they were given rye bread, 
as well as crushed oats, but their favorite article of 
food was tansy {Tanacetum vulgare). For winter 
a large store of tansy was gathered and dried, and 
a great quantity of willow twigs. When the first 
snow came they were given the shelter of a stable. 
Every morning they were turned loose for exercise. 
They then browsed on the willow, eating the more 
slender twigs, but only the bark of the larger sticks. 

The two calves were very playful, came when 
called, and welcomed attentions from grown 
people, but wished nothing to do with children. 

In the spring the two young elk began visiting 
the neighboring village, belled like cattle. Their 
dislike for children continued, but after one of 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 311 

the boys of the village had been knocked down by a 
pair of angry hoofs the children ceased to approach 
them. Their feed was now marsh hay, tansy, 
two or three handfuls of oats, and twice a day a 
dish of willow bark steeped with oatmeal. In 
addition they frequently received bread from 
members of the household. They were often 
admitted to the house, where they were given free 
range to roam about. It was necessary, however, 
to cover a certain mirror, for both betrayed a 
disposition to attack their reflection in the glass 
with their hoofs whenever they saw it. At such 
visits they always received pieces of bread, and 
soon they learned to make straight for the house 
in the morning, ascend the six steps of the porch, 
and beat on the door until bread was brought to 
them. They drank little water, even in summer. 

They were returned to their enclosure in the 
garden in May, 1871, but at first seemed lonesome, 
eating only when people were present, and making 
unmusical calls when left to themselves. They 
ate whatever was offered to them, including apples, 
cucumbers, and cabbage leaves, but always pre- 
ferring tansy, which they would eat, roots and all. 

They visited the village freely in the winter of 
1871-72, especially certain houses where they had 
been given delicacies to eat. At one house they 



312 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

were accustomed to receive bread spread with 
honey, and if on entering they could not find their 
host they made nothing of going up stairs in 
search of him. At the village inn they were enter- 
tained by the innkeeper's son, but one day, in the 
son's absence, when they stood knocking at the 
door, the father drove them away with a whip. 
His back was scarcely turned when they came 
back and shattered the door with their hoofs. 
The owner of the elk paid for the needed repairs, 
and the elk continued their visits. They were in 
good health through the winter, except once from 
an unknown cause their bodies became bloated, but 
this was relieved by rubbing and by an injection. 

In March, 1872, the female lost her life in a frolic 
with her brother. They enjoyed throwing each 
other down in playful attacks, but one day the 
young female was accidentally thrown through the 
latticed cover of a well and killed. The young 
bull stood as if transfixed at the sight, until he was 
led away. For a week the survivor made many 
visits every day to the well, seeking his playmate, 
and endeavored in vain to raise the new and 
heavier cover which replaced the broken one. 

Two *' spikes" grew from the forehead of the 
young bull in April, 1872, attaining in two weeks a 
length of more than four inches. Twice a year. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 313 

when the antlers were growing and when they 
were cast, he seemingly suffered much discomfort, 
and lost a quantity of blood, but recovered his 
health and spirits quickly. 

Complaints were made of the elk*s misdemeanors 
by certain beggars who made a practice of carrying 
the proceeds of their mendicancy in sacks on their 
back. The elk considered himself entitled to a 
share of the charitable gifts, and whenever he 
saw anyone with such a sack he ran to him, seized 
the sack and pulled at it until the bearer was 
thrown down, unless the latter preferred to sur- 
render the sack voluntarily. The elk would put 
his nose in the sack and make short work of the 
contents, and then seek another victim. After 
these complaints the highway robber was kept in 
confinement, but often escaped through a gate 
carelessly left open. The beggars soon learned to 
protect themselves from the elk's attacks by pro- 
viding themselves with dry bread crusts for the 
robber, and keeping the sack out of sight. '^'* 

In his relations with dogs the elk showed con- 
siderable tact. If they surrounded him and 

*< A Russian writer in Die Jagd (Berlin, Sept. 2, 1906) relates how a 
tame elk, to gratify a fondness for mushrooms, would seek out peasant 
women who were gathering mushrooms in the woods, and after putting 
them to flight would eat the contents of the baskets which in their 
anxiety to escape they left behind. 



314 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

barked till they were hoarse, he merely went 
slowly from one to another with lowered head, 
and sniffed, but never ran away. 

At three years of age, in 1873, the elk was larger 
than his mother, and in good health, but with 
inferior development of antlers. He continued 
tame, was fond of being combed on the breast 
and belly, but would not suffer much handling of 
his back.^^ He was fond of human society, and in 
the fall, with a pair of Newfoundland dogs, and 
sometimes a couple of bird dogs, would accompany 
the family when out for a walk. The party would 
frequently walk three versts (about two miles) 
to make a call, the animals remaining at the gate. 
The elk on such trips would never leave the party. 
The elk's antlers had only 2+1 points in 1873, 
and 2+2 in 1874. 

The writer tells little of the elk's later years. A 
change of residence compelled the owner to part 
with him in September, 1884. The animal was 
then 14 years old. He subsequently found a 
home in the zoological garden at Moscow, but it is 

's Munster wrote in 1554 that elk could not be made to carry a load 
on the back {"nee possiinl quicquam ferre in dorso"), and other writers 
have described the elk crouching on his haunches to free himself from 
the burden of a rider. On the other hand, Baron von Kapherr says 
that his cousin could mount and ride a tame bull elk without objection 
on the part of the latter, but any attempt to fasten a saddle on his 
back by a girth met violent resistance. 



TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE ELK 315 

not known to what age he attained. In conclusion 
his former owner wrote: "It seemed to me that 
this strong animal was fully conscious of his 
strength, but never misused it." ^^ 

Alfred Edmund Brehm, the German zoologist, 
describes his experience with a captive elk. The 
animal was kept in an enclosure separated from a 
garden by a wall two meters (about 6)4 feet) in 
height. When he wished to visit the garden the 
elk would crouch on his haunches beside the wall, 
put his forefeet on the top, and with slight effort 
throw himself over. He never sought to escape 
beyond the garden.^^ 

'* Martenson, ubi supra, pp. 72-78. 

'7 Tierleben, 2d edition (Leipsic, 1877), vol. iii., p. 115. 



CHAPTER XVI 



HOW THE ELK IS HUNTED 



Of the various methods of hunting elk In the 
Eastern Hemisphere, the method which is most 
common in the Western Hemisphere is probably 
the least practiced. This method is still-hunting, 
or stalking. Still-hunting makes too great de- 
mands on physical endurance to be attractive 
to a large class of European sportsmen. Further- 
more, it is objected that the rough timbered 
mountain-sides of Norway, and the low marshy 
thickets of the Baltic coast, are too difficult of 
access for successful stalking. 

Many European sportsmen, indeed, fail to 

catch the true spirit of still-hunting in the quest 

for big game. Captain C. R. E. Radclyffe, an 

Englishman, thus wrote of a moose hunt in Alaska: 

"A more monotonous, uninteresting, and often 

tiring performance I have never indulged In, the 

only skill required being such as is supplied by a 

sharp pair of eyes and ears, in addition to the power 

316 



HOIV THE ELK IS HUNTED 317 

of creeping about quietly — in fact the most ele- 
mentary principles of hunting, and the element of 
chance existing so strongly that it is merely a 
matter of 'bull-headed luck' if you come across 
a bull moose with a head measuring forty inches 
or seventy inches. . . . Any intelligent being can 
master the principles of moose-hunting, as carried 
on in the Kenai forests, after two days playing at 
being his native's [guide's] marionette, to such an 
extent that he is fully capable of going and killing 
his own moose single-handed."^ 

Evidently Capt. Radclyffe learned little from 
his guide of how the moose should be hunted — 
little of the animal's habits, and little of the signifi- 
cance of the many "signs" which abound in good 
moose cover. Perhaps the guide himself was 
unskilled; if so, and it was the captain's first moose- 
hunting trip, his own skill would not be much 
greater at the end of two days in the moose country. 
As for luck, it is a factor, but a minor one, in the 
still-hunting of an intelligent and experienced 
sportsman or guide. 

Abel Chapman, in a chapter on "Norwegian 
Elk Hunting" in Big Game Shooting^'' writes: 
"It will be obvious . . . that an animal, found 

• Big Game Shooting in Alaska (London, 1904), pp. 203-204. 

• Country Life Library of Sport (London, 1905), vol. i., p. 126. 



3i8 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

only In evergreen forest, where no clear view can 
be had beyond lOO yards, and often far less, can- 
not be stalked. For * stalking ' presupposes that the 
game be first spied at a distance, which. In this 
case. Is Impossible." But many of us who have 
stUl-hunted moose In the American woods, have 
spent hours perhaps (without a dog, of course), 
on the fresh "works" of a promising bull, only to 
lose him In the end without even a sight of the 
coveted head, simply by the accident of a stick 
broken under a foot carelessly placed. We called 
it still-hunting, or stalking, and enjoyed the sport 
keenly. But either we or Mr. Chapman must 
revise our definition of "stalking." 

One who Is fond of dogs will no doubt find much 
enjoyment In watching a good dog as he tugs at the 
leash on the fresh track of an elk, but he will 
perhaps begrudge the four-footed hunter the 
share of credit which will be his due if success is 
attained. 

Occasionally In Russian preserves elk become 
accustomed to the sight of farm wagons on the 
forest roads, and remain undisturbed while a 
wagon passes within easy gunshot, but move away 
if anyone approaches on foot. Hunters some- 
times take advantage of this fact, and hunt from 
such wagons — and this is as near an approach to 



HOfV THE ELK IS HUNTED 319 

stalking as is known in many portions of the elk's 
Russian domain. 



Hunting with a well-trained dog is the favorite 
method of seeking the Scandinavian elk. The dog, 
a sort of spitz, is commonly kept in leash: indeed, 
the use of the ''loose dog" is now illegal in Norway. 
A windy day is preferred: the dog gets the scent 
of the game quicker, and the elk is less likely to 
hear his pursuer, when there is a fresh breeze. 
In a sort of breastplate harness the dog cautiously 
follows a trail; when at close quarters he is usually 
tied to a tree and left, while the hunter stalks the 
quarry alone. By this method nine-tenths of all 
the elk killed in Norway are taken, and the system 
certainly makes hunting easier where the chase is 
in open timber in a season of bare ground. 

"A blank day in Norway may be full of excite- 
ment," writes Hesketh-Prichard, ''for there the 
hound is a living barometer, giving warning of the 
nearness of the elk, which he can wind at a great 
distance, often leading the hunter to a fresh track a 
mile off."^ An ill-timed whine, or a broken leash, 
may spoil the hunt, however, and the hunter will 
blame the dog; or the hunt may succeed, and the 

i Blackwood's Magazine, Aug., 1908; see also Blackwood's for July, 
1906. 



320 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

dog, in such case, will usually be entitled to the 
major part of the credit. 

Swedish elk hunters generally employ the "loose 
dog/' The dog is left to range free: when he 
strikes a trail, if well trained, he follows silently 
until he brings the elk to bay, then he seeks to 
hold the quarry, barking, until the hunter comes up. 
The chase may lead over the roughest sort of 
country, and many hunters would find it too 
exhausting, for the dog should be closely followed, 
and his zeal may take him many miles before he 
gives up the pursuit. This system of hunting is 
subject to the drawback that after a long hard 
chase the dog may be completely lost to sight and 
hearing, or the quarry may be found to be merely 
a cow elk, or a spike-horn.'^ 

The Russians have a kind of dog called "laika," 
with pointed erect ears, thick hair, and wolflike 
appearance, which when well trained is a valuable 
aid in hunting elk or bear. These dogs are found 
throughout northern Russia and Siberia, and are 
employed to watch the herds of reindeer, and to 
draw sledges, as well as in hunting. Only certain of 
the laiki are useful in the sport, however, special 
training being important. They are kept in 

< Chapman, ubi supra, p. 127. Pottinger, Big Game Shooting 
(London, 1894), vol. ii., pp. 136-143. 



HOIV THE ELK IS HUNTED 



321 




322 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

leash, and when a fresh track is found they follow 
quietly until they are near the quarry, when they 
are released, and soon bring the elk to bay. Their 
duty is to hold the elk's attention by springing 
about, seeking to bite him, first on the hind legs, 
then on the nose, until the hunter, in response to 
the dog's barking, comes up with his rifle. The 
dachshund also is well adapted by nature to as- 
sist in this class of hunting.^ 

The use of dogs in hunting elk is looked upon 
with growing disfavor in Russia, because of their 
tendency to frighten all classes of game, driving 
even the elk from their accustomed covers, perhaps 
never to return. In place of dogging, the hunters 
of the Baltic provinces now employ driving in 
some of its forms almost exclusively when they go 
in quest of elk. 

Baron von Kapherr*' describes an elk drive in 
Russia, quoting from the Neue Baltische Waid- 
mannshldtter. Seven sportsmen took part. Two 
were armed with rifles, two with shotguns carrying 
round ball, and three with shotguns loaded for 
hare, and they were placed at proper intervals in a 
long line. The first line of beaters consisted of five 

sMartenson, p. 135; Kapherr, pp. 86-88. 
* Ubi supra, pp. 82-84. 



HOPy THE ELK IS HUNTED 323 

forest helpers, who advanced without making a 
noise. About 150 paces in their rear fourteen 
beaters followed, whistling and clapping their 
hands. The purpose of the second line of beaters 
was to drive forward any game which broke 
through the first line, for the elk have learned 
the hazards of the drive, and often refuse to ap- 
proach the line of guns, but seek to escape through 
the advancing line of beaters, or around its ends. 
For this reason a position on the flank usually 
affords the best opportunities for a shot. It is 
said that sometimes the animals even hide in 
thickets, hoping to be overlooked till the danger 
has passed. '^ 

When the beaters had covered half the distance 
to the line of sportsmen, the nineteen men formed 
themselves into a single line, and went forward 
quietly the remaining distance. In spite of these 
precautions a number of elk broke through the 
line of beaters and escaped. Such a drive is 
always conducted down the wind. The human 
scent is often enough to send the elk in the desired 
direction, unless the game has become familiar 

' Martenson (p. 65) tells of an old elk which had survived a number 
of drives, and had learned the trick of breaking through the line of 
beaters early in the drive, and seeking safety in the rear. At last tlie 
guns were stationed behind the beaters, and by this device the crafty 
veteran was brought to bag. 



324 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

with the system of hunting, and suspects an unseen 
and unscented danger ahead. 

In this Instance three drives were undertaken. 
The amount of territory covered could not have 
been great, for a late breakfast was served in the 
woods after the second drive. The narrator 
referred with some disparagement to the weapons 
used by the other sportsmen. He had a position 
on the flank, and three elk, a fox, and a heathcock 
fell to his gun. The first elk was a spike-horn; 
the second a cow, limping from old wounds in the 
legs inflicted by a poacher's shotgun; the third, a 
bull of undefined character. The latter suc- 
cumbed to two ii-mm. rifle balls, which, for lack 
of more rifle cartridges, were followed by a round 
ball from a shot barrel at thirty paces, and that 
by eight shot cartridges fired from a knee rest, 
the elk standing, at fifteen paces' distance. One 
of the helpers tried to assist with a muzzle-loader, 
but the gun missed fire; another sent a charge or 
two of shot at the sorely-harassed animal. The 
elk, now unable to stand, still held his head up, 
awaiting the coup-de-grdce. For lack of ammuni- 
tion the narrator of the story finished him with a 
thrust of a fourteen-inch knife blade behind the 
shoulder. Two bullets had taken eff"ect behind 
the shoulder, and one in the intestines. The 



HOIV THE ELK IS HUNTED 325 

narrator does not undertake to describe the distribu- 
tion of the pellets from those nine or ten shot 
cartridges, nor the part which they played in the 
outcome of the hunt. 

It is to be hoped that all the participants an- 
swered at the roll-call when the drive, with its 
excitement and fusillading, was at an end. 

If beaters are plenty and the number of guns 
limited, some of the beaters are stationed at the 
ends of the line of guns, and at right angles to it, to 
divert any elk which might otherwise escape; or 
some will be posted between the sportsmen on the 
firing line. Flags or other devices are sometimes 
suspended from the trees to guard the ends of the 
line, if the number of helpers is insufficient.^ 

A variation of the drive, often practiced in 
Russia for the benefit of an inexperienced hunter, is 
called "circling." It is most successful when the 
ground is covered with snow. The hunter is 
posted on a trail frequented by elk, and several 
beaters form a sort of circle, one slowly and quietly 
following the trail toward the hunter, while the 
others seek to direct the course of any elk which 
may be encountered into the trail, but without 
frightening the game. This expedient is likely 

' Martenson, p. 138. 



326 THE OLD-IVORLD ELK 

to succeed in territory where elk are accustomed 
to the sight of men, and hence are not timid. 
The beaters or drivers must be famihar with the 
habits of the game, and must possess skill and 
patience, if they would bring an elk within gunshot 
of the hunter without frightening the animal out 
of a walk.^ Like many other systems of hunting 
in Europe, this system is designed to aid sports- 
men who do not possess the skill and power of 
endurance needed for successful stalking. 

Another variation, when beaters are few, is to 
station the guns at a number of trails, while a 
helper leads a hound to the farther side of a section 
of good elk cover. The release of the hound is fol- 
lowed, when he strikes a fresh elk trail, by the music 
of his excited bark. As the baying draws nearer 
it tells the hunters to be ready for a possible 
shot.^" 

Elk drives have long been a means of entertaining 
royalty and royalty's friends in Sweden. Such a 
drive, organized at the command of King Frederick 
I. of Sweden in September, 1737, lasted four days. 
One wing was 27,690 paces in length, and the other 
24,675, the base being 9300 paces. The accounts 
do not tell how many persons took part, but the bag 

' Kapherr, pp. 88-90. '" Kapherr, p. 86. 



HOfV THE ELK IS HUNTED 327 

included six bears, three wolves, three lynxes, one 
fox, and twelve elk, besides many hares and birds." 
Edward VII., as Prince of Wales, visited Sweden 
in 1885, and was entertained by a gigantic elk 
drive. Preparations were begun weeks before- 
hand, many hundred beaters being employed In 
"sweeping with a gigantic cordon, which was 
never relaxed by day or night, an enormous extent 
of forest, and moving the elk gradually to the 
stations of the guns.'* In a single day forty-nine 
elk were killed. Three years later. In the same 
forest (at the southern extremity of Lake Wenern), 
sIxty-sIx elk were killed in three drives on a single 
day.^^ Some excuse for this slaughter was found 
in the fact that the elk had been damaging the 
young Scotch firs In the forest. 

Calling as a means of hunting elk is practiced 
to some extent in southwestern Russia, but the 
caller Imitates the short grunt of the bull. Indeed, 
some Russian writers deny that the cow elk Is 
ever heard to make a vocal sound in the season of 
the rut. 

It is usual, according to Kapherr, for some 
forest official to make a thorough inspection of the 

" Lloyd, Scandinavian Adventures (London, 1854), vol. i., p. 308. 
" Pottinger, in Big Came Shooting, vol. ii., p. 136. 



328 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

elk cover a few days before the beginning of the 
rutting season, and ascertain the number of bulls to 
be found, and their favorite haunts. In the morn- 
ing or evening, when the weather is favorable and 
the hunt is to be undertaken, the hunter takes his 
station, with the caller forty or fifty paces behind 
him. The latter then seeks by imitating the voice 
of a small bull to draw a larger bull within range 
of the sportsman's rifle. In addition to calling, 
various noises are made to imitate the actions of a 
bull challenging a rival to combat — as if an elk 
were pawing with his fore hoofs and beating dry 
brush with his antlers. These tactics are said to 
be often successful. ^^ 

A description of a September hunt in south- 
western Russia by two sportsmen and a guide is 
given by Martenson. 

The guide sounded the call. "We soon heard a 
breaking of brush, and two bulls appeared in the 
clearing. . . . Then at their left a cow elk ap- 
peared, followed by two more bulls. When the 
first two bulls saw the cow they began to roar, 
and to paw the ground with their hoofs. After a 
few minutes a large fifth bull came bellowing on the 
scene, and attacked the second pair of bulls, 
which were younger, and with such violence that 

** Ubi supra, pp. 60-66. 



HOJV THE ELK IS HUNTED 329 

they fled to the edge of the clearing. The large 
bull then attacked the two bulls which had first 
appeared, and a bitter contest between the three 
ensued, in which thrusts of antlers alternated with 
angry roars." 

The fight raged furiously at fifty paces' distance 
from the hunters, one after another of the bulls 
being thrown to the ground, but quickly regaining 
his feet, and resuming the battle. The narrator 
was about to fire at one of the struggling elk, 
but the guide restrained him, saying that they 
should approach and fire at a shorter distance. 
The three men then advanced to within seven paces 
of the combatants, and the two sportsmen, each 
singling out a victim, fired simultaneously. Two 
more shots were fired at the third elk, and the 
three animals lay on the ground dead.^"^ 

Calling, by either the American or Russian 
system, is rarely practiced in Scandinavia. Lewis 
Lloyd, who wrote more than sixty years ago, 
tells, however, of elk in Dalecarlia being brought 
within gunshot by the music of a violin played in 
ambush. He does not tell us the favorite air of 
the elk. Probably the Swedish national anthem 
would do as well as anything. Captain Lloyd 
relates how an elk on one occasion charged into a 

*< Martenson, ubi supra, p. 150. 



330 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

thicket in which a vioHnist and a hunter were 
concealed, and seriously injured one of the men/^ 
We all feel that way sometimes, when we hear 
someone scraping the strings of a violin without 
knowing how to play. 

In Siberia and a large share of European Russia 
the people in general have been in the habit of 
exercising, with more or less legal sanction, the 
free right of hunting. In the exercise of this right 
season, age, sex, method — everything but slaughter 
has been lost to sight. As a result there has been a 
great reduction in the number of elk to be found 
on both sides of the inter-continental boundary — a 
reduction which, unchecked, and aided by improved 
firearms, would lead to extermination.^^ 

Pitfalls are much used by the peasants of Russia. 
Sometimes a series of pitfalls, with intervening 
barriers to lead the animals to their doom, are 
constructed by men who seek to make a living 
by the slaughter of game. Once a week, or per- 
haps only once a fortnight, the pitfalls are visited, 
and sometimes elk are found in them which have 
starved to death. Similar barriers are erected in 
Siberia, sometimes three or four miles long, with 
a number of openings at which snares and spring- 
's Field Sports of the North of Europe (London, 1885), p. 293. 
'^Martcnson, p. 130. 



HOfV THE ELK IS HUNTED 331 

guns are placed, ready to destroy the passing 
animal when he comes in contact with a cord.^'' 
These expedients are especially destructive of 
elk in regions like Siberia where the animals make 
semi-annual migrations, the seasons and the 
direction of their journeying being well known to 
the natives. Saltlicks, with blinds from which 
the professional hunter can kill the visiting game, 
are also employed. 

Crust hunting, as In America in the time of the 
Indians, and with the assistance of dogs, is still 
common east and west of the Ural Mountains. 
To save gunpowder the slaughter is accomplished 
in some cases by the use of a knife attached to the 
end of a ski, the ski thus serving as a spear. In 
such cases females, heavy with young, are shown 
no special consideration. Hundreds of elk have 
been thus slaughtered In a single winter in certain 
districts of Russia — thousands in the various elk 
regions of the broad empire. Martenson tells of a 
landowner In eastern Russia who by crust hunting 
shot sixty-four elk In three winters, questions of 
age and sex being alike ignored. ^^ 

A writer in Tobolsk, western Siberia, quoted by 
Kapherr, says that poachers in that section hunt 

^T Ibid., pp. 130-131; Blasius, ubi supra, p. 276. 
'* Ubi supra, p. 133. 



332 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



elk from boats In spring and summer when the 
animals have taken refuge In the water from the 
attacks of Insects. The boats are covered with 
the boughs of trees, and the slaughter Is accom- 
plished as the hunters thus shielded drift slowly- 
down the stream/^ Another expedient resorted 




A Scandinavian Poacher's Device 



to in Siberia in summer is a system of fire hunting. 
A boat is covered with green brush, and equipped 
with a raised wire basket in which pine knots are 
burned. At night the boat Is slowly and silently 
paddled about in search of game. At sight of the 
fire an elk will stand and face it, until the hunter 
has come near enough to shoot. '^^ 

Lloyd tells of pitfalls formerly common in 



" Ubi supra, p. 34. 



' Ibid., p. 



HOIV THE ELK IS HUNTED 333 

Scandinavia, and also of a contrivance which was 
sometimes arranged beside an elk trail for killing 
the game automatically. A sapling was cut and 
trimmed, and attached horizontally to two trees, 
about four feet from the ground. The slenderer 
free end was bent sideways, resting on a rail fixed 
horizontally at right angles to the trail. The end 
of the sapling was secured by some trigger device, 
and a wire attached to the trigger was stretched 
across the trail. A heavy arrow or spear was 
placed in a groove in the rail, and when the elk 
pulled the trigger by striking the wire the bent 
sapling was free to drive the arrow into the side of 
its victim. Barriers, in funnel form, were usually 
erected, as often in the case of drives, to guide the 
elk to his fate. Incidentally the writer tells of 
instances in which woodsmen have been victims 
of this device. The use of such contrivances was 
illegal/^ 

" Scandinavian Adventures, vol. ii., p. 105. 



CHAPTER XVII 



ANTLERS OF THE ELK 



Siberia and the neighboring sections of European 
Russia produce the best elk antlers taken in the 
Old World. Specimens from these sources ex- 
hibited in the great zoological museum in Petro- 
grad, and in other Russian collections, have a 
spread of from 59 to 6^ inches, with palmation 
reaching 12 and 14 inches, and sometimes as many 
as 30 points. Some of the best specimens, no 
doubt, were taken many years ago. In other parts 
of Russia, and in Scandinavia, antlers even ap- 
proaching the least of these dimensions are becom- 
ing more rare from year to year.^ 

The Siberian hunter, having only the demands 
of the market in mind, has sought hides and meat, 
indifferent to questions of sex and age in the 
quest of game. In consequence, Siberian antlers 
continue normal, showing none of the deteriora- 
tion which is manifest in western Europe, where 

' Martenson, ubi supra, p. 35. 

334 



ANTLERS OF THE ELK 335 

the protection of young males, together with the 
natural desire of the sportsman to secure the best 
possible trophies, has left for breeding only the 
elk with inferior antlers. Furthermore, the ad- 
vanced agricultural conditions of western Russia 
and Scandinavia may easily have exerted an un- 
favorable influence, the elk being deprived of some 



A Peculiar Siberian Type 

of the articles of forage to which he had been 
accustomed. 

Many Siberian antlers are notable for long and 
heavy main beams, resembling the fossil antlers 
of the long-extinct Alces latifrons of western 
Europe. The main beam of the Siberian specimen 
here illustrated is more than eight inches in length 
between the burr and the beginning of the palma- 
tion, and it has a circumference of y]/^ inches. 
The extreme spread is 52 inches.^ 

"Martenson, tibi supra, p. 35. These antlers are the property of 
E. Buchner of Petrograd. They were taken in the vicinity of Krasno- 
yarsk, Siberia. 



336 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

There is no evidence that the best Siberian or 
European antlers ever equaled the best which are 
now found in America. In a paper on the natural 
history of the elk, read before the Imperial Acad- 
emy of Sciences of St. Petersburg March 24, 1870, 
Johann Friedrich Brandt discussed at length the 




Fossil Antlers from Russian Poland 

fossil remains of elk found in Europe and Asia. 
The best example of fossil antlers which had at- 
tained full development of which he gave an 
illustration was found beside the Bug River in 
Russian Poland. The river in a season of freshet 
had undermined the bank, and thus brought the 
antlers to light. In the same diluvial soil the skull 
of a rhinoceros was found. The greatest spread of 
the antlers (from a to b) is supposed to have 
measured 58.11 inches (1476 meters). The 



ANTLERS OF THE ELK 337 

smallest circumference of the larger beam is S}4 
inches.^ These antlers were preserved in the 
zoological museum in Warsaw. 

The largest and most fully developed single 
fossil antler described and illustrated by Brandt 
was found in 1833 in the valley of the Rhine, south 
of Darmstadt, at a depth of twenty-one feet. 
It was deposited in the Darmstadt museum. 
The spread of the pair was probably about sixty 
inches. This antler has twelve prongs. They 
are somewhat shorter than those of the Polish 
specimen. The palmation reaches a breadth of a 
little more than twelve inches."* 

At the International Hunting Exhibition held 
in Vienna in 1910 few elk heads taken in Rus- 
sian territory were shown. The best heads from 
Scandinavian covers were from Sweden. The first 
prize for European antlers was awarded for a well- 
balanced pair exhibited by Herr Rothmann from 
Murjeck, Sweden. They spread 53 inches, and 

3 J. F. Brandt, "Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte des Elens in Bczug 
auf seine Morphologischen und Palaontologischen Verhaltnisse, sowie 
seine Geographische Verbreitung, " in Memoires de V Academic Impenale 
des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, seventh series, vol. xvi.. No. 5, p. 19- 
See also G. G. Pusch (of Warsaw) in Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie 
(Stuttgart), 1840, pp. 70 et seq. More fossil remains of elk have been 
found in Germany than elsewhere in Europe. Very few have been 
found in England. In America fossil remains of moose are rare. 

4 See Brandt, ubi supra, p. 17; J- J- Kaup, Neues Jahrbuch fiir Minera- 
logie, 1840, p. 167. 



338 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



had 12+ 1 1 points. The circumference of the 
main beam above the burr was 7.9 inches. 

Rowland Ward in his Records of Big Game^ 
describes sixteen European elk heads. The widest 
spread is credited to one from Norway in the 
possession of H. J. Elwes, measuring 52 inches. 




Best Elk Antlers at the Vienna Exhibition, 1910 

A better head, also from Norway, belongs to Capt. 
Gerard Ferrand, but measures only 51^ inches. 
It has 10+10 points, with palm 15^4 inches in 
breadth, and the circumference of the beam is 
8^ inches. "Anything spreading over 40 inches 
may in Norway be termed a good head, as is 
anything over 50 inches in Canada," wrote H. 
Hesketh-Prichard, "but the number of 50-inch 
heads shot in Canada is far more in proportion to 

s Seventh edition, London, 19 14. 



ANTLERS OF THE ELK 339 

the total killed than is that of 40-inch heads to the 
total killed in Norway."^ 

Two Swedish heads are described by Ward, 
spreading 49 and 46 inches respectively. The 
latter, belonging to Capt. Ferrand, has 10+10 
points, ii>2 inches breadth of palm and jyi inches 
circumference of beam. A fine specimen of 
Scandinavian elk antlers presented to the New 
York Zoological Society by William T. Hornaday 
in 1906 spreads 45 inches, and the breadth of 
palmation is 9 inches. There are 11 + 12 points. 

The best Russian head described in Ward's 
Records belongs to Prince E. Demidoflf. It 
measures 48 inches, has 10+9 points, 11^ inches 
breadth of palm, and 8^ inches circumference of 
beam. It was taken near Petrograd. Better 
heads, taken in the government of Minsk, in West 
Russia, are mentioned by J. G. Millais in an 
article on "The European Elk and Its Horns," 
in Country Life (London, July 30, 1910). Euro- 
pean antlers in general show less tendency to the 
formation of a distinct group of brow prongs than 
in the case of the moose of America. 

The development of the antlers Is naturally less 
rapid in the elk of western Europe than in the case 

* Blackwood's Magazine, August, 1908. 



340 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

of the moose, for the ultimate development when 
the animal is in his prime is inferior. In his fourth 
year, writes Martenson, the elk is still a crotch- 
horn. In the fifth year tie number of points 
varies from four to six, and there is a slight ten- 
dency to palmation. In the sixth year the normal 
formula of antlers is 3+3, with a little broader 




An Eight-Year-Old from Livonia 

palmation. In the seventh year the number of 
points is generally from six to eight; in the eighth 
from eight to ten; and in the ninth from ten to 
twelve, of which from four to six will be in the 
brow groups. In the tenth year the antlers usually 
have from twelve to fourteen points. After the 
elk's ninth or tenth year variations from the normal 
in antler development become more marked, but 
until the sixteenth year there is increase in the 
strength and weight of the antlers, together with 
increase in palmation, while the prongs become 



ANTLERS OF THE ELK 341 

shorter and their number remains variable. After 
the sixteenth year the development will show re- 
trogression. In very old elk many of the prongs 
become short and blunt, and often merely scallop 
the outer edge of the principal blade; the brow 
prongs, however, continue to be well developed.' 
It would seem that the time when the antlers 




Antlers of an Old Elk 

of elk begin growing, reach maturity, and finally 
are dropped is more variable than in the case of 
moose. Martenson was assured by some sports- 
men from Petrograd, who had been bird shooting 
in the government of Novgorod, that they had 
seen three mature elk, on the 12th of April, 1903, 
which had not yet cast their palmated antlers. 
This, however, Martenson considered a rare oc- 
currence.^ 

7 Martenson, uhi supra, pp. 30-31. Martenson was writing in 
Livonia, southwestern Russia. His statements would probably 
require some modification in other parts of the empire. 

8 Uhi supra, p. 32. 



342 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



"In general It may be said that spike-horns and 
crotch-horns drop their antlers from November to 
March, Inclusive; older elk, from November to 
February; and those with best developed antlers, 
from October to December."^ These dates are 
earlier than In the case of the moose, or of the elk 
of Scandinavia. 

In captivity the time of casting the antlers 
shows greater variation than when the elk Is In the 
enjoyment of his freedom. An elk called "Puck'* 
was kept in a private park near Dorpat, in Livonia, 
Russia, until his tenth year, when he was gored to 
death in a fight with a male red deer [Cerviis 
elaphus). The character of his antlers for each 
year of his life, and the dates when they were 
dropped, are given below: 



Age, 
Years 

I 

2 

3 

4 
5 
6 

7 







Age at Time 






of Casting 


No. Points 


Antlers Cast '» 


Antlers 


i+i 


Late April, 1885 


23 mos. 


1+2 


Late April, 1886 


35 " 


2+2 


March 6, 1887 


46 " 


2+2" . 


Feb. 25, 1888 


58 " 


3+4 


Feb. 19, 1889 


70 " 


3+3" 


Apr. 13-May 3, 1890 


83 " 


3+3 


Feb. 18-19, 1891 


93 " 


5+5 


Nov. 12, 1 891 


102 ' 


4+4 


Oct. 24, 1892 


. 113 " 



9 Martenson, uhi supra, p. 33. 

' Martenson gives the dates according to the Russian calendar. 
They are here reduced to the "new style." 
' ' Heavy flat prongs. 
" Heavier than the antlers of the previous year. 



ANTLERS OF THE ELK 343 

The heaviest antlers were those at eight years of 
age. There were then ten points, 2 + 1 of which 
were brow or "fighting" prongs {" Kampfs pros- 
sen*'). A picture of "Puck," which is given as a 
frontispiece in Martenson's book, shows him at 
eight years of age in his park, the wildness of 
which seems to approach closely to the natural 
forest conditions in which an elk may be expected 
to thrive/^ 

At a meeting of the Zoological Society of London 
Feb. 18, 1902, Richard Lydekker exhibited the 
skull and antlers of an adult male elk "from 
Siberia, " which were commented upon as remark- 
able for the practical absence of palmation of the 
horns. Mr. Lydekker placed the age of the animal 
at "at least six or seven years," the cheek-teeth 
being about half worn. "Mr. Lydekker had been 
informed that other elk antlers from Siberia were 
of a similar type." Considering the lack of 
palmation as typical of Siberian specimens, Mr. 
Lydekker was inclined to regard this variety 
as a distinct species. He accordingly gave the 
name Alces bedjordice to the species, in honor of 
the Duchess of Bedford, wife of the president of the 
Zoological Society. "The occurrence in Siberia 

'»Martenson, p. 33. 



344 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



of an elk with antlers of the simple type of those 
exhibited was a fact of considerable interest, since 
that country was probably the center whence both 
the European and American races of the true elk 
were evolved." '"* 

But Martenson, more familiar with the elk of 
European Russia and Siberia than any English 




\w 

Alces bedfordiae 

writer, declares that the unpalmated antlers 
are characteristic of certain sections of European 
Russia and Scandinavia, but are practically un- 
known in Siberia. The absence of palmation he 
associates with the encroachments of civilization 
and agricultural improvement in the habitat 
of the elk. Such change in antlers, he remarks, 
has never been observed in the wilds of Siberia. 
Moose antlers equally devoid of palmation are 

^^Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1902, vol. i., pp. 
107-109. 



'ANTLERS OF THE ELK 345 

occasionally found in America. Such a pair from 
Manitoba is illustrated in Ernest Thompson 
Seton's Life Histories of Northern Animals^ vol. 
i., p. 156. 

Mr. Lydekker failed to give the history of the 
particular specimen upon which he based his 
classification of Alces bedfordicB, and Mr. Marten- 
son may after all be right in assuming that it had 
its origin in European Russia, "of the existence 
of which," he says, "Mr. Lydekker seems not to 
be aware." The Englishman is commonly looked 
upon as a "lumper" by other naturalists, and he 
has disputed with some warmth the position of 
those who would treat the moose of America as of a 
different species from the elk of Europe.^^ 

's See page 57. In Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game (seventh 
edition, 19 14), three specimens of the "East Siberian elk {Alces machlis 
bedfordice}" are described. The best has a width of 42 >^ inches, 6+5 
points, and 7^2 inches circumference above burr. These antlers belong 
to Hon. Walter Rothschild. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

MISBELIEFS ABOUT THE ELK 

Among many ancient misbeliefs concerning the 
elk the most widespread, and generally the most 
remarkable, was that in which he was associated 
with epilepsy, both as a victim of the disease and 
as furnishing the means for its cure in human 
patients. 

Peasant and scholar alike, the humble woods- 
man and the professor at the university, were 
convinced that the elk was often afflicted with the 
falling sickness, and the belief that he could cure 
himself when attacked by opening a vein in the 
ear by the hoof of one of his hind feet was for 
centuries unquestioned. The belief in this self- 
cure easily led to a theory that the hoof which 
could cure an elk could cure a man suffering from a 
similar ailment. Hence many treatments in which 
the elk hoof was employed were recommended by 
the regular practitioners of medicine of the olden 

time for human patients suffering from epilepsy. 

. 346 



MISBELIEFS ABOUT THE ELK 347 

Olaus Magnus, writing In 1555, endorses the elk 
hoof as a curative In excellent Latin. And he was 
very circumstantial In describing the method of 
securing It. It must be the outer half of the 
right hind hoof, he asserted, and It must be cut 
from the living animal after the middle of August.' 
As described by Conrad Gesner, a celebrated 
Swiss naturalist, In 155 1, It was necessary for the 
elk to Insert his right hind hoof In his left ear.'* 
Gesner's Illustration shows a low-browed evll- 
looklng beast without horns, having short legs 
and long heavy body. If he could reach his left 
ear with his right hind hoof while In the midst of 
an epileptic convulsion he must have possessed 
acrobatic skill of a high order. 

Samuel Friedrlch Bock, however, in 1784 seri- 
ously controverted the belief In the elk's tendency 
to epilepsy, and his cure. He explained that the 
elk is uneasy at the time when the antlers are 
cast, by reason of an Itching sensation in the 
ulcerated area at the base of the horn, and for this 

* "Ungula exterior dexteri lateris, pedis posterioris, onagri masculi, 
qui non genuit, abscisa h. vivo pede securi, vel alio instrumento avulsa 
post medium Augusti, spasmum, aut morbum caducum patienti adhibita 
continue sanat." — De Gentibus Septentrionalibus (Rome, 1555), p. 601. 

^"Germanicum nomen miseriam significat; & vera miserum est 
animal, si credcndum est quod scepe audivimus, quotidianum ei morbura 
comitialem ingruerc, a quo non prius levetur quam dextri (si bene memi- 
ni) posterioris pedis ungulam auriculae sinistrae immiserit." — Historia 
Animalium (Zurich, 1551), vol. i., p. 3. 



348 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

reason scratches his scalp behind the ear with the 
hoof until the blood flows, seeking relief. Never- 
theless Dahms quotes Bock as recommending the 
hoof of the right hind foot of the elk to cure this 
very ailment in men. 

Many of us have seen a wounded moose, in 
extremis, striking rapidly, viciously, aimlessly, 
and perhaps only half consciously with his fore 
hoofs as he lies helpless on the ground and sees the 
dreaded hunter close at hand. It is this spasmodic 
movement, which is quite characteristic of the 
wounded moose, and which resembles the con- 
vulsions of an epileptic, that perhaps gave rise to 
the epilepsy fable. But this belief did not begin 
with Magnus and Gesner, nor end with Bock. It 
gained wider currency, and lived more persistently, 
than any other misbelief associated with any species 
of animal. 

Lithuania was long the seat of an industry in 
healing tokens in which the hoof of the elk was 
employed, and the traffic extended as far as Italy. 
Rings were made from the horn substance of the 
hoof, and worn on the ring finger of the left hand, 
or pieces of the hoof were set in rings of gold and 
worn so that the curative medium would be in 
contact with the skin. Sometimes too the remedy 



MISBELIEFS ABOUT THE ELK 



349 



was worn at the neck or on the breast. In other 
cases the hoof was scraped with a file, and the 
fihngs thrown into wine, and taken internally; 
or pieces were burned, and the smoke inhaled as a 
relief in cases of epilepsy and hysterics.^ 
In its time the most complete and highly es- 



Zli^ 




Elk Attacked by EpUepsy (Pomet, 1735) 

teemed treatise on materia medic a in Europe was 
a work by Pierre Pomet of Paris. From this 
we learn that the elk is extremely subject to 
attacks of epilepsy, but is able to cure himself by 
putting his left hind foot into his left ear. To 
supply the drug trade with hoofs for use in the 

3 Dr. Dahms made an exhaustive study of this subject, and to his 
article in Globus (vol. Ixxiv., pp. 219-220) the author is indebted for 
much of the information here given. 



350 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

treatment of similar human ailments, Pomet 
states, men in Lithuania went in parties of four, 
armed with the arquebus, and lay in wait for the 
elk in the woods. When they saw one in the 
midst of an attack of epilepsy, they would shoot 
simultaneously, but only to cripple the animal, 
for the hoof possesses its wonderful curative 
properties only when taken from the living elk. 

The victim, helpless on the ground, was tied 
with ropes, and the hoof was then removed, after 
which the sufferer was dispatched, and the car- 
cass dressed for the sake of the venison. Meanwhile 
a gunshot was fired occasionally to frighten away 
the rest of the herd, for we are assured that they 
are dangerous antagonists."^ 

Referring to the superstition in Europe regard- 
ing epilepsy among elk and men, and its cure, J. G. 
Bujack wrote in 1837 that the same false belief 
prevailed among the Indians in America, and that 
the belief in America had an independent origin, 
quite free from any European influence.^ Dr. 



^Histoire General des Drogues, by Sieur Pomet (Paris, 1735), vol. ii., 
pp. I20-I22. Pomet's elk bears a very close resemblance to Montanus's 
moose. See p. 20. 

5 "Sonderbarer Weise herrscht in Amerika bei den Indianem derselbe 
Wahnglaube, und hat sich, auEfallend genug, unfehlbar ganz unab- 
hangig von dem Europaischen Einfluss, dort selbststandig gebildet." 
— " Naturgeschichte des Elchwildes oder Elens, " in Preussische Pro- 
vinzial- Blatter, vol. xviii., p. 149 (Konigsberg, 1837). 



MISBELIEFS ABOUT THE ELK 351 

Dahms accepts Bujack*s statement in this matter 
without" comment. In a previous chapter, how- 
ever, the present writer has ventured to question 
the independent origin of the belief in America.^ 

The hoof was not the only portion of the elk 
which possessed medicinal virtues. He was a 
walking drug store. His antlers, if secured about 
the first of September, were efficacious in cases of 
epilepsy; rings made from the antlers were worn as 
preventives of headache and vertigo; while still 
growing, and hence tender, slices cut from the 
antlers and steeped with herbs and spirits produced 
a remedy for snake-bites. The bone of the elk's 
heart,^ burned or pulverized, was prescribed for 
ailments of the heart; the fat yielded a valuable 
salve; his marrow, his blood, his bones reduced to 
ashes, — all had their uses in the healing art; his 
nerves dried and wrapped around an arm or 
leg suffering from cramp would prevent further 
attacks — and so on through a long and entertaining 
list. 

No doubt all these remedies would be as effica- 
cious today as they were two hundred years ago, 
and no doubt the hoofs and horns of the moose 
possess curative properties not surpassed by those 
of the elk of northern Europe. 

* See pages 263-267. ^ See page 268. 



352 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

Medieval practitioners of medicine — and the 
Middle Ages in the healing art have continued 
down almost to our own time — were perhaps no 
more dishonest than their successors today. Dis- 
ease was a mystery, and it was believed that nature 
had given the key to the mystery in a system of 
symbols, called "signatures." It was the physi- 
cian's function to trace the resemblances between 
symptoms of disease on the one hand and natural 
objects on the other, for such resemblances were 
the "signatures" — the signs and symbols which 
nature had provided — to guide mortals in the 
search for health. The physician whose knowl- 
edge of chemistry was gained in the alchemist's 
laboratory might honestly see in the distinction 
between the right hoof and the left a possible clue 
to one of nature's many secrets. Thus, groping 
in the dark as they were after the truth, the worst 
that can be said of the medical men of the later 
Middle Ages is that they failed to find it. And 
the ghost of the old superstitions still haunts the 
best regulated apothecary shops. 

Ancient writers who gave accounts of the elk 
were as imaginative as any of the early travelers 
in America who left descriptions of the moose. 
The elk's size invited exaggeration, and a full 



MISBELIEFS ABOUT THE ELK 353 

century before Pontoppidan's time Olaus Worm 
described the animal as so large *'ut sub ventre 
ejus quis stare valeret''^ Worm referred also to the 
elk's timidity, saying that he would die at once at 
sight of his own blood, if even slightly wounded.' 
It was said too that when running fast in the 
woods the elk carries his antlers in a horizontal 
position, his nose raised in the air, and that at 
such times he is unable to see the ground, and often 
falls for this reason. But how many men ever 
saw a moose fall when running, unless he was 
overtaken by a bullet? The Chinese have a 
familiar simile, lin chih chih, "as sure-footed as an 
elk, " and certainly the elk deserves the compliment. 
Still another belief was to the effect that the elk 
drinks much water, which is heated to the boiling 
point in his stomach; and that if pursued by dogs 
he ejects this water at them, to drive them away.'"^ 
"Among the peculiarities of this animal it may 
especially be mentioned that when the ground is 
very broken and soft he lies down, and seeks to 

* See p. 280. Old German writers declared that next to the giraffe the 
elk was the tallest of all species of deer. And it was a long time before 
they discovered that the giraffe was not a deer at all. 

'"Timidum animal est, advenientes homines fugiens, quovis parvo 
vulnere moritur, & si suum viderit sanguinem exanimatur." — Worm, 
Museum Wormianum (Amsterdam, 1655), p. 337. 

"> Dahms, quoting Conrad Forer, Allgemeines Tierbuch, Frankfort, 
1669. 

as 



354 THE OLD-WORLD ELK 

push himself forward with his feet." Georg L. 
Hartig, who wrote thus in 1817," was stating a 
beUef which was quite common in his time. 
Some asserted that the elk was able to make 
rapid progress across swamps in this way, though 
only by the expenditure of great exertion. Bujack 
discredits the entire story, however, calling atten- 
tion to many known instances where elk have been 
found helpless in swamps, and have escaped from 
their predicament only by the aid of men, who 
brought ropes for use in effecting a rescue. 

As late as 1838 Lorenz Oken wrote: "It is said 
that the ermine creeps into the elks' ears while 
they sleep, and bites them so that in their frenzy 
they dash their heads violently against any object, 
or throw themselves over a precipice."""^ This 
fable, the correctness of which Prof. Oken did not 
feel called upon to question, seems to be a survival, 
with variations, of a story told by Olaus Magnus 
275 years before. "The ermine, " he wrote, "often 
seizes the elk by the throat, and bites them until 
they bleed to death." 

Since the elk first entered the pages of literature 
— on the jointless legs given him by Caesar — he 
has been a creature of mystery, and travelers, 

^^ Lehrhuch fiir Jdger, und die es Werden Wollen, vol. i., p. 163. 
^' Allgemeine Naturgeschichte Jur Alle Sidnde, vol. vii., p. 13 13. 



MISBELIEFS ABOUT THE ELK 355 

scientists, and, in a less degree, sportsmen have 
contributed to the misrepresentations which have 
been pubUshed concerning him. 

The ancient Germans, in their days of paganism, 
revered the elk as a divinity, or, as Erasmus Stella 
wrote, as a messenger of the gods. From that 
time to this the great animal has never been 
reduced to the commonplace plane where the 
other forest creatures pass their humdrum exist- 
ence. Thanks to his uncouth figure, his colossal 
size, and a disposition to spend his life in the 
retirement of thick woods, far from the sight of 
men, he has always been surrounded by a halo 
of mystery and misunderstanding. There are still 
many questions concerning the elk and the moose 
about which writers differ, but the number is 
growing less as modern matter-of-fact methods 
are applied to the study of zoology. 



INDEX 



In cases where page references are separated by a double colon, the 
references before the double colon refer to the American moose; 
those following it refer to the Old-World elk (or moose). 



Abnaki, name of moose, 237; 
Rasle's dictionary, 237 (note), 
265, 267, 268; myths, 247 

Accessories for hunting trip, 163- 

165 
Adirondacks, moose m, 33-34 
Adney, Tappan, quoted, 98 (note) 
Age which moose attain, 73, I73-- 

301-302 ; difficulty of estimating 

age, 171 , . ^ ^ . 

Aim, pomt at which to, loO 
Akeley, C. E., on taxidermy, 

197 
Alaska, 53, 56, 118, 121, 316; 
moose in, 39 (note), 41; game 
law, 43-44. 52; Alces gigas, 
59-60; brow palmation of ant- 
lers, 61; gain of territory by 
moose, 39, 42; importance of 
big game, 221 (note); size of 
moose, 60, 64. See Kenai Pen- 
insula 

Alberta, 39, 54, 55; game law, 52; 
number of moose killed, 44; 
antlers, 183 

Alces, origin of name, 239-240 

Alces americanus, 56, 59 

Alces americanus shirasi, 60 (note) 

Alces bedfordice, 343-345 

Alces gigas, 59-60 

Alces latifrons, 335 

Alces machlis, 241-242 

Aldrovandus, elk portraits, 278- 
279 

Alger, Miss A. L., an Indian myth, 

251-254 
Algonquian names of moose, 237 



Algonquin moose mjrths, 247-254; 
the epilepsy superstition, 266 

American Museum of Natural 
History, 197, 244 

Ammunition, 152-160 

Ancient hunting methods, 132 
et seq. 

"Animal magnum," 242 

Anthrax, 73 :: 305 

Antlers of moose — Alaska, 177- 
180; Alberta, 183; British 
Columbia, 182; Maine, 1 86, 
189; Manitoba, 183; Minnesota, 
184; New Brunswick, 187-189; 
Nova Scotia, 189; Ontario, 
184-186; Quebec, 186; Yukon, 
180-182 

Brow palmation in Alaska, 
61; cast antlers found in 
woods, 171; color, how restored, 
200; of cow moose, 174-175 J 
deterioration, 169-170; earliest 
American specimens, 166-169; 
exaggeration regarding, 21, 26, 
176; used in fighting, 81, 172, 
173; effect of food on growth, 
60-61, 174; growth of, I70;-I74; 
Indian uses for, 202; inter- 
locked antlers, 175; measure- 
ment, 190-194; mounting heads, 
194-198; in old age, 173; 
spread not the only test, 193; 
time of casting, 171; velvet, 
172; weight, 176, 178, 180, 
181 (note), 191; mounted on 
wooden heads, 167. See Elk 
Arctic Circle, 39, 180 :: 288 



357 



358 



INDEX 



Arms and ammunition, 152-160 

Articles made from moose pro- 
ducts, 202-203 :: 284-287 

Asia, earliest home of moose, 3; 
elk range in, 288-289 

Attacks by moose on men, 76-8 1 ; 
when jacking, 146-147 

Audubon and Bachman, marrow 
as food, 211; the muffle, 214 

•Automatic rifles, 152, 159 

Baird, Prof. S. P., quoted, 74- 

75 

Baltic provinces of Russia, 290, 
292, 316, 322 

Basques, their name for moose, 
238 

Beam, circumference, how meas- 
ured, 191 

Beaver's tail as food, 212-213 

Bell of the moose, 68 

Bell, J. M., an Indian myth, 257- 
260 

Bell, Dr. Robert, moose killed for 
skins, 30; migration of moose, 

39-40 

Berkshire Hills, moose in, 35 
Bierstadt, A., moose antlers, 189 
Blasius, Prof. W., 285, 287, 309; 
age of elk, 301 ; diseases of elk, 

305 

Blowflies, 163 

Blue Mountain preserve, 36 

Bock, S. P., epilepsy in elk, 347 

Bolt rifles, 157 

Bone in the moose's heart, 267- 
268:: 351 

Boston, moose killed near, 24, 35 

Boucher, P., the epilepsy super- 
stition, 265-266 

Bows and arrows, compared with 
firearms, 10 

Brandt, J. P., fossil elk antlers, 

336-337 
Breck, Dr. E., on calling, 129 

(note) 
Breeding moose in captivity, 71- 

73 

Brehm, A. E., 225; elk in cap- 
tivity, 315 

Bright colors for hunting clothing, 
90, 161 

British Columbia, 55, 130; moose 
iri| 39; game law, 52; hunting 

■ in, 45; antlers, 182 



Brow palmation of Alaska ant- 
lers, 61 

Browne, Bclmore, an episode in 
Alaska, 118 

Browsing and peeling, 107 

Buff-leather, 15, 28 

Buff'on, 62, 282 

Bujack, J. G., 354; epilepsy super- 
stition in America, 350 

Bull's response to call, 124 

Burrard, Sir Harry, moose antlers, 
188 

Caesar, 240; describes the elk, 
274 

Calf moose, 71; birth, 83-84; 
rapid growth, 84-85; show little 
fear of men, 85 ; protected, 52 

Calling, 120-131 :: 327-330; the 
season, 120; in Alaska and Yu- 
kon, 121; the calling stand, 122; 
the call, 124; the bull's answer, 
124; contests between bulls, 
125 :: 328-329; freedom from 
wind important, 125; "speaking 
bull," 126, 130 :: 327; calling 
from a canoe, 127; diversity 
in calls, 127; value of moon- 
light, 128; early morning call- 
ing, 128; the calling horn, 128; 
in Russia, 327-329; by violin, 

329 
Canada, 30, 124 (note), 137, 238, 

260, 338 
Canada jays, 306 
Canadian Northwest, gain of 

territory by moose, 39 
Canoes made of moose skins, 140 
Cape Breton, 27, 145 
Captivity, moose in, 17, 71-75:: 

307-315. 
Cariacus virginianus, see Virginia 

deer 
Caribou, 27, 46, 75, 155, 175, 194, 

201, 224, 230; migration from 

Asia, 4 
Cartier, Jacques, explorations, 5 
Cassiar District, B. C, 45, 182 
Cast antlers found in the woods, 

171; time of casting, 171:: 341- 

342 
Caswell, Col. J., moose antlers, 

186 
Caton, 160; moose and Scandi- 
navian elk identical, 57, 243 



INDEX 



359 



Catskills, moose in, 35 
Caughnawana Club preserve, 186 
Cervus alces, 62, 239-240, 271 

(note) 
Cervus canadensis, see Wapiti 
Cervus elaphiis, see Red deer 
Champlain, 25 ; Indian moose hunt- 
ing, 6; Indian banquet, 9; 
Indian moose drives, 135 
Changes in the moose range, 32, 

39 

Chapman, A., 320; stalking elk, 
317-318 

Charlevoix, 262; slaughter of 
moose, 28; Indian moose drives, 
134-135; the giant moose, 260- 
261; the epilepsy superstition, 
265, 266 

Chops, how to cut, 209 

Cincinnati, moose in captivity, 
71-72 

"Circling" for elk, 325 

Clinch, D. W., on calling, 129 
(note) 

Clothing of moose skin, 6, 17 
(note), 28, 202:: 284, 285 

Clothing for hunting, i6r, 163 

Clothing, white, for hunters, 50 

Cold storage of moose meat, 206- 
207 

Color-blindness of animals, seem- 
ing, 90 

Color of antlers, how restored, 200 

Color for hunting clothing, 50, 
161 

Color'of moose, 68, 173 

Colosseum at Rome, elk in, 275 

Commercial importance of veni- 
son supply, 222-223, 225-226 

Conservation of timber and game, 
222-223 

Cook, F. H., moose antlers, 187 

Cooking, see Food 

Corbin, Austin, moose in preserve, 
36 

Corned moose meat, 218 

Courland, 292, 306 

Cow moose, defence of calf, 85:: 
303; protection of, 52, 228-229:: 
296; how tracks are distin- 
guished, no; the call, 124; cow 
with antlers, 174-175:: 175 (note) 

Cracking of moose scalp, cause, 
194 

Cree Indians, 135, 237 



Crust hunting, by Indians, 6, 8, 
137-141; in Maine, 141, 227; in 
Russia, 331 

Cuvier, 62 

Dahms, Dr. P., 287, 348; size of 
elk, 282; elk hoofs in medicine, 

349 

Danger from moose in captivity, 
71; in the woods, 76-81 

d'Aulnay, Sieur, trade in moose 
skins, 27 

Decatur, S., moose antlers, 187 

Deer, see Virginia deer 

Demidoff, Prince E., 339; hunting 
in Russia, 296 

Denys, Nicolas, 122 (note); In- 
dian kettles, 9-10; slaughter of 
moose in Acadia, 26-27; Indian 
superstitions, 266, 267 

"Depth of body" defined, 64 

Description of moose, 64 et seq.; 
Sir Ferdinando Gorges, I1-12; 
William Wood, 13; Thomas 
Morton, 14; Montanus, 20-21; 
Josselyn, 21-23; Judge Dudley, 
23-25; of elk — Caesar, 274; 
Pliny, 275; Miinster, 278 

Deterioration in antlers, 169- 
170 :: 334-335 

Development of antlers, 1 70-1 71:: 

339-341 

Dewclaw bones as paper cutters, 
200 

De Weese, Dall, 60 

Diereville, the epilepsy super- 
stition, 267 (note) 

DigestibiUty of various foods, 
205 

Diseases of moose, 72, 73 :: 305- 

.307 
Division into species, 56-62 
Dogs in hunting, 145 :: 318-322, 
326; used by Indians, 9, 134- 
135. 138; in Cape Breton, 145 
Dog-Rib Indian myth, 257-260 
Domestication of elk, 307-315; of 
moose, 17, 71-75; of moose 
proposed, 12, 13, 14, 17 
Douglas-Lithgow, Dr., quoted, 54 
Dried moose meat, 16, 18 
Driving game, by Indians, 11, 
134-136; methods employed, 
147. Elk drives in Europe, 
see Elk 



360 



INDEX 



Driving moose in harness, 74-75:: 

307-309 
Dudley, Judge Paul, 35, 262; 

description of moose, 23-25; 

moose's mufifle, 213 



Earliest use of the word moose, 

12 
East Prussia, elk in, 281, 284, 290, 

293-295. 306 

"East Siberian elk," 345 (note) 
Eaton, A. W., quoted, 247-248 
Edward VII., a New Brunswick 
moose head, 188; elk drive in 
Sweden, 327 
Elend, origin of name, 239-241 
Elk, American, see Wapiti 
Elk, European and Asiatic — 
Antlers, 334-345; growth of, 
312; slow development, 339- 
341; in captivity, 314; time of 
casting, 341-342; fossil, 336- 
337; best specimens, 337-339; 
Alces bedfordicB, 343-345; used 
in medicine, 351 

Hunting methods — with dogs, 
318-322, 326; driving, 293- 
294, 322-327; "circling," 325; 
calling, 327-330; pitfalls, etc., 

330-333 

Age, 301-302; diseases, 305- 
307; domestication, 307-315; 
food of, 303, 3 1 0-3 11; in herds, 
302; identical with moose, 57, 
58, 62, 243, 273; insect pests, 
306-307; migrations, 304-305; 
misbeliefs, 346-355; not mo- 
nogamous, 303; number, 291- 
292, 293; playfulness, 310, 312; 
elk products in the arts, 284- 
287; in medicine, 346-351; 
range, 288-290; rutting season, 
302 ; size, 281-282, 300; fondness 
for water, 303 
Elk, origin of name, 239-240 
Embroidery in moose hair, 68 
Epilepsy in moose, superstitious 

belief, 263-267:: 346-351 
Ermine, attacks on elk, 354 
Everett, R. W., quoted, 51 
Exaggeration in respect to size, 
21-22, 24, 64, 81 (note) :: 280, 
353; in respect to antlers, 21, 
26, 176 



Extermination of moose, no danger 

of, 32, 226-227 
Eyesight of moose, infenor to that 

of man, 90-93 

Fat of the moose, 207; prized by 
Indians, 18 

Fay, S. P., moose antlers, 182 

Field Museum, Chicago, moose 
antlers, 178 

Fights between moose, 81, 83, 
125, 172, 173, 175 :: 328-329 

Finland, elk in, 288, 290, 291- 
292 

Firearms, 152-160 

"Flat-horned elk," 243 

Fog siren as a moose call, 124 
(note) 

Food, moose meat as, 204-219; 
easily digested, 205; baked 
mufHe, 216-218; broihng, 208; 
chafing dish, 210; chops, 209; 
cold storage, 206-207; corned, 
218; the fat, 207; feet, 212; 
liver, 210; marrow, 211; muffle, 
212-218; pan broiUng, 208; 
roast, 209; smoked, 18; steaks, 
208; stewing, 209; stewed 
muffle, 216; tongue, 211 

Food of moose, 86-87:: 303, 310- 
311; eflfect of, on growth of ant- 
lers, 174 

Footwear, 161-162 

Forest conservation, 220 et seq. 

Fossil elk antlers, 272, 336-337 

Fossil remains of moose, 4, 272 

France, extinction of elk in, 276 

Eraser, Rev. J., on moose's muffle, 
214 

Future of the moose, 220-231 

Gait of the moose, 74 

Game as a national asset, 222-223, 

225-226 
Game laws, 41-52, 227-231 :: 

296-298 
Gasp^ Peninsula, 25, 31, 40 
Geographic names derived from 

moose, 53-56 
Germany, gradual extinction of 

elk in, 276, 281 
Gesner, Conrad, epilepsy in elk, 

347 
Giant moose, Indian belief m, 
2bo-26i 



INDEX 



361 



Gibb, L. M., moose antlers, 186 
Glacier National Park, moose in, 

37 
Glooskap in Indian myth, 247 
Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, describes 

the moose, 11-12 
Grant, Madison, 33, 34, 96, 261; 
range of moose, 39 (note); 
brow palmation of Alaska ant- 
lers, 61 
Greek name for elk, 239-240 
Growth of antlers, 170-174 :: 
312, 339-341 

Hair of moose, 68, 172 :: 286; 

used in Indian embroidery, 

202-203 ; grows upward from the 

nose, 201 
Hampton Court Palace, moose 

antlers in, 166-169 
Hardiness of moose, 223, 226 
Hardy, Campbell, snaring moose 

in Nova Scotia, 137 (note); 

cooking marrow, 2 1 1 ; an Indian 

myth, 249 
Harness, moose driven in, 74-75 : : 

307-309 
Hearing, sense of, in moose, 93 
Height of moose, 64-67:: 300 
Heraldic moose of Michigan, 29 
Herding of elk, 302 
Hesketh-Prichard, 290, 298; jack- 
ing, 147; hunting with dog, 319; 

Norwegian elk heads, 338 
Hibbs, N., moose muffle baked in 

the ground, 216-217 
Hide of moose as leather, 14, 15, 

28, 201:: 284-286; Indian uses 

for, 202-203 
Hinman, Maj. C. W., capture 

of calf moose, 85-86 
Hock, skin used for moccasins, 202 
Hoflfman, Dr. W. J., Indian myths, 

255-257 

Hoofs, as weapons, 81, 138 :: 311- 
312; used in cure of epilepsy, 
263-267:: 346-351 

Horn used in calling, 128 

Homaday, W. T., 37, 67, 70, 
244, 339; specific differences in 
moose, 59 (note) ; size of antlers 
influenced by food, 61 (note); 
comparison of antlers, 191 
(note); commercial value of 
venison, 222-223 



Horse, size compared with moose, 
66; speed compared with moose, 

74 :: 309 
Hudson Bay, 38, 53 
Human scent in tracks, 108 
Hunting methods now obsolete, 

132-147 
Huron Indians, moose-hair em- 
broidery, 68; moose drives, 135 

Ibenhorst elk preserve, 284, 301 
Ice avoided by moose, 76 
Idaho, moose in, 32, 37, 81 
Indians, their bows and spears, 
10, 11; moose calling by, 122 
(note) ; calling in British Colum- 
bia, 130; cooking methods, 8-9, 
17-18; crust hunting, 6, 8, 
137-140; driving moose, 134- 
136; moose-hair embroidery, 
68; feasts, 9, 17-18; moose 
meat as food, 6, 8, 15-16, 27- 
29, 140; killing for market, 16- 
17, 27; myths regarding moose, 
245-261; names for the moose, 
237; names of Indian origin, 
54; moose products, 202-203; 
destruction of moose by, 27, 
28, 30, 98 (note), 140; snaring 
moose, 136; superstitious beliefs, 
262-268; tongue of moose 
highly prized, 18, 211 
Indifference of moose to danger, 

occasional, 93-97, 104-105 
Insects which afflict the elk, 306- 

307 
Instinct of the moose, 69, 100 
Intelligence of moose, 67, 69-71 
Irish elk, 243-244 
Isle Royale, moose on, 36 

Jacking, forbidden by law, 145; 
misconceptions concerning, 145- 
147; fire hunting in Siberia, 

332 
Jackson Hole, moose m, 51 
"Jesuit Relations," 15-18, 251 

(note), 261, 263 
Josselyn, Dr. John, 211, 262-263; 

description of moose, 21-23 
"Jumping deer," 239 

Kaiser, as an elk hunter, 293- 
295 



362 



INDEX 



Kapherr, Baron von, 241, 261, 
298; European elk identical 
with moose, 58; diseases of elk, 
305-306; riding on elk's back, 
314 (note); Russian hunting 
methods, 322-326, 327-328; il- 
legal methods, 331-332 

Kenai Peninsula, 38, 41-43, 53. 
60, 64, 94, 96, 171, 317; 
antlers, 177-180; locked antlers, 

175 ^ . 

Kennebec, Indian moose himtmg 

in 1604, 6 
Kennedy, M. A., moose antlers, 

185 
Kettles, Indian method of making, 

8-10 
Kineo, Indian myth, 248 

Lahontan, Baron, Indian crust 
hunting, 137-140; antlers weigh- 
ing 300 pounds, 176; the epilepsy 
superstition, 265 

Lake Superior, 26, 36, 135, 250 

Lantz, D. E., 225; food value of 
venison, 205 

Lapland, elk in, 288 

Laws affecting game propagation, 
73. See Game laws 

Leather of moose skin, 14, 15, 28, 
201, 203 :: 284-286 

LeClercq, Fr., the epilepsy super- 
stition, 267 

Lejeune, Fr., quoted, 17, 18, 262 

Leland, C. G., Indian legends, 
247. 251 (note) 

Lescarbot, picture of moose, 7, 8; 
Indian method of cooking, 8-9 

Licenses to hunt, see Game laws 

Linnaeus, 62 

Lithuania, name for elk, 241; 
traffic in elk hoofs, 348, 350 

Liver of moose, 210-211 

Livonia, 292, 306, 309, 342 

Lloyd, L., 175, 296, 327; elk call- 
ing by viohn, 329; illegal hunt- 
ing devices, 332-333 

Locked antlers of moose, 175 

Lydekker, R., moose and Euro- 
pean elk identical, 57; origin oi 
name elk, 239; Alces bedfordice, 
343-345 

Mackay, C. H., moose antlers, 179 
Mackenzie River, 39, 202, 258 



Magnus, Olaus, elk as draft 
animals, 308-309; elk hoofs in 
medicine, 347; the ermine fable, 

354 
Maine, 6, 12, 21, 28, 30, 53, 55, 
71, 74, 96, 142; moose in, 32; 
moose protected until 1919, 45; 
increase of moose in the '90's, 
46; antlers, 186-187, 189; deteri- 
oration in antlers, 170; crust 
hunting in, 141 

Malignant anthrax, 73 :: 305 

Mammoth and the moose, 260- 
261, 272 

Manitoba, 35, 54. 55. 239, 345; 
game law, 52 ; number of moose 
killed, 46; game preserves, 47; 
white clothing for hunters, 50; 
antlers, 183 

Marrow as food, 2H 

Martenson, A., 309, 323 (note); 
European elk identical with 
moose, 58; elk range, 290 
(note) ; number of elk in Europe 
and Asia, 291-292; decrease in 
some parts of Russia, 297, 330; 
age of elk, 301; elk migrations, 
304; insect pests, 306-307; elk 
calling in Russia, 328; crust 
hunting in Russia, 331; antlers, 
334. 335. 340-343; Alces bed- 
fordtcB, 344-345 

Massachusetts, 13, 23, 35 

McCutcheon, R. R., moose ant- 
lers, 182 

Measurement of moose, 64-67; of 
antlers, 190-194 

Menomini Indian myths, 255-257 

Merriam, Dr. C. H., quoted, 

34 

Michigan, moose m, 36; m 1834, 
29 

Micmac myths, 249-251 

Migration of moose, 3, 39-40, 42:: 
289, 304-305 

Millais, J. G., European elk ant- 
lers, 339 

Miller, G. S., Jr., charactenstics of 
Alces gigas, 59-60 

Milzbrand, 73 :: 305 

Minnesota, 53,55; moose in, 36- 
37; number of moose killed, 
47; game law, 52; antlers, 184 

Moccasins of moose skin, 15, 201, 
203; moose-hock, 202 



INDEX 



363 



Monogamy, not practised by 

moose, 82 :: 303 
Montana, moose in, 37, 53 
Montanus, Arnoldus, quoted, 19 
Moonlight, important in calling, 

128 
"Moose," earliest use of word, 

12 ; origin of the name, 237 
Moose birds, 306 
Moose meat as food, see Food 
Mooselucmaguntic, 54 
Moose wood, 87 
Morton, Thomas, describes the 

moose, 14 
Mount Desert Island, 12, 55, 

248 
Mountain sheep, 43, 51, 180 
Mounting game heads, 194-198 
Muffle of moose, 212-218; stewed 

muffle, 216; baked muffle, 216- 

218 
Mimro, Dr. W. L., moose antlers, 

Munster, description of elk, 278, 

314 (note) 
Myths concerning the moose, 

245-261 

Names of the moose, errors re- 
specting, 237-243 

Napkin rings of moose horn, 
198 

National Collection of Heads and 
Horns, 175, 179 (note) 

New Brunswick, 54, 67, 75, 98, 
165, 175, 199, 248; moose in, 
32; game law, 52; number of 
moose killed, 47; number of 
moose increasing, 48; size of 
moose, 60; antlers, 187-189 

Newfoundland, 155; attempt to 
stock with moose, 38 (note) 

New Hampshire, 54, 55; last 
moose in, 33 

"New Netherland, Game in," 
19-21 

New York, 19-20, 33-35, 53, 54» 

55 
Niedieck, P., moose antlers, 180; 
an adventure on Kenai Penin- 
sula, 96 
Night, moose active at, 89 
Northern boundary of moose's 
range, 38-39 :: 288-289 



Northwest Territories, 55, 80, 

202 
Norway, 316, 317; Pontoppidan's 

description of elk, 280; elk in, 

290, 291, 296; hunting regu- 
lations, 296, 298; elk in harness, 
308; hunting with dog, 319; 
antlers, 338. See Scandinavia 

Nova Scotia, 7-8, 54, 55, 85, 90, 
104, 128, 165, 218, 248; moose 
in, 32; game law, 48, 52; pro- 
tection of cow moose, 48, 228- 
229; number of moose killed, 
48; moose rarely yard, 98; ant- 
lers, 189; wild land in, 221; re- 
moval of meat from the woods, 
230; Micmac myths, 249-251 

Number of elk — East Prussia, 
293; Russia, 292; Scandinavia, 

291. Increase in number, 289; 
East Prussia, 293; Finland, 
291-292; Norway, 290-291. 
Decrease, Russia, 297, 330 

Number of moose, estimated — in 
America, 40; Glacier National 
Park, 37; Kenai Peninsula, 43; 
ISIinnesota, 37; Yellowstone 
Park, 38; Wyoming, 51. In- 
crease in number. New Bruns- 
wick, 32, 48; Maine, 32, 46; 
Yellowstone Park, 38; Canadian 
Northwest, 39; Alaska, 39, 
42-43; Ontario, 49; Wyoming, 

Nuremberg, elk antlers m, 276 

October Mountain preserve, 35- 

36 
Onager, a name for elk, 242, 

280 
Ontario, 30, 53, 54, 55, 66, 239; 

game law, 52; hunting in, 48; 

number of moose increasing, 

49; antlers, 184-186 
Orenac, Basque name for moose, 

238 
Orignac, orignal, origin of name, 

238 
Osborn, Prof. H. F., quoted, 3, 4, 

244 
Osborn, J. B., moose antlers, 193 
Osgood, W. H., quoted, 121 
Ottawa River, 140 (note), 214 

Palmation, measurement, 191 



364 



INDEX 



Pan broiling, 208 

Paper cutters of dewclaw bones, 

200 
Parasites which attack elk, 305- 

307 
Passamaquoddy myth concerning 

creation, 247 
Pausanias, mentions the elk, 240 
Peeling bark, 87, 107 
Penobscot belief concerning origin 

of moose, 249 
Percival, H. C., moose antlers, 

184 
Perrot, Nicolas, moose driving 

by dogs, 135 
Photographing game, 145-146 
Pitfalls, used by Indians, 1 1 ; in 

Europe, 330, 332 
Playfulness of elk, 310, 312 
Pliny, his name for elk, 241; 

description, 275 
Poachers, 297-298, 331-333 
Poland, fossil elk antlers, 336; 
1 extinction of elk in, 285 
Pomet, Pierre, elk hoofs in medi- 
cine, 349-350 
Pontoppidan, description of elk, 

280 
Pottinger, Sir Henry, 160, 320, 

327; increase of elk in Norway, 

290-291; size of elk, 300 
Pounding on a tree in calling, 

130 
Prehistoric hunters, 132 
Preserves of moose, private, 35, 

36, 72-73; public — Manitoba, 

47; Minnesota, 37; Montana, 

37; Yellowstone Park, 38 
Prichard, see Hesketh-Prichard 
Prince Edward Island, 27, 251 

(note) 
Prongs, how counted, 190, 191 
Propagation of moose, 72-73 
Protective legislation, 41, 52, 227- 

231 
Purchas, "Pilgrimes," quoted, 1 1- 

12 

Quebec, 54, 78, 237; moose in, 39; 
game law, 52 ; number of moose 
killed, 49; antlers, 186 

Radclyffe, Capt., 178 (note); 

stalking moose, 316-317 
Radisson, moose hunting, 26 



Rand, Rev. S. T., an Indian myth, 

250-251 
Range of moose, 32-52, 226:: 288- 

290; Montanus quoted, 20-21; 

Judge Dudley, 24; Cham- 
plain, 25; Sagard-Theodat, 25; 

Radisson, 26; Denys, 26-27; 

in Michigan, 29 
Rasle, Fr., slaughter of moose, 

28; Abnaki dictionary, 237 

(note), 265, 267, 268 
"Red deer," in America, 239 
Red deer (Cervus elaphus), 167, 

170, 195, 237, 239, 342 
Reed, A. S., moose antlers, 178, 

182 
Reed-McMillan collection, 178 
Removal of meat from the woods, 

229-231 
Rhine, former home of elk, 276, 

337 

"Riding down" saplings, 87 

Rinderpest, 73 :: 305 

Roast haunch of moose, 209 

Rocky Mountains, 37, 54, 64, 81 
(note), 180, 183, 217; an Indian 
myth, 257-260 

Roosevelt, T., encounter with a 
vicious moose, 78-80 

Ross, B. R,, Indian uses for moose 
products, 202-203 

Rungius, C, measurement of 
New Brunswick moose, 67; 
moose called by, 121 

Russia, elk in, 288-290; number, 
292, 297, 330; hunting regu- 
lations, 296-298; stalking, 318; 
hunting with dog, 320-322, 
326; elk drives, 322-326; 
"circling," 325; calling, 327- 
329; pitfalls, 330; antlers, 334- 
335, 339» 344-345; elk in 
captivity, 14, 309-315; tribute 
paid in elk skins, 285; elk 
migrations, 304-305; weight of 
elk, 300 

Rutting season, 81-83 '•' 302; 
growth of antlers associated 
with, 81, 172, 173 

Saddle, objection of elk to, 314 

(note) 
Saguenay River, 9, 16-17 
St. John River, moose driven on 

ice, 75 



INDEX 



365 



St. Lawrence River, 5, 6, 28, 30- 

31. 137 
Sale of game, 73, 228 
Saskatchewan, 39, 54, 55; game 

law, 52; number of moose killed, 

49; white clothing for hunters, 

50 
Scandinavia, 339; boundaries of 

elk range, 288-290; number of 

elk in, 291; size of elk, 300; 

antlers, 334-335. 344 
Scent of moose, 93 
Schoolcraft, 29; Indian myths, 250 
Scientific names for the moose, 

56-62, 236-243 
Scott, Prof. W. B., quoted, 4 
Seasons for moose hunting, 41, 52 

:: 296; for calling, 120, 122 
Selous, F. C, 65 (note), 122; 

adventure with a sleeping moose, 

95; moose antlers, 182 
Seton, E. T., 345; number of 

moose in America, 40 
Seymour, Gov. Horatio, 33 
Shaw, Otho, moose antlers, 184 

(note) 
Shedding antlers, time of, 171:: 

341-342 

Shiras, Hon. George, 3d, 60 (note) ; 
moose on Yellowstone River, 
38; adventure with cow moose, 
94-95; jacking, 146; cast ant- 
lers found, 171; moose of Yellow- 
stone Park, 172 (note) 

Shiras moose, 60 (note) 

Shoulder blade of moose, used in 
calling, 131 

Siberia, 320; ancient home of 
moose, 271, 343-344; elk in, 
288; elk migrations, 304; peas- 
ants' hunting methods, 330- 
332; antlers, 334-336, 343-344- 

Sight, sense of, in moose, 90 

Sinews, Indian uses for, 202-203 

Size of moose, 60, 64-67 :: 281-282, 
300; signs indicating size, 108; 
compared with Irish elk, 244 

Skins of elk, formerly considered 
bullet-proof, 284 

Skins of moose in trade, 16-17, 27, 
30 :: 292; as leather, 14-15, 28, 
201, 203 :: 284-286 

Skrowronnek, Dr. P., elk in East 
Prussia, 293-294; elk as swim- 
mers, 303 



Sleeping moose, Selous's adventure 
with, 95 

Small-bore rifles, 153 

Smell, sense of, in moose, 93 

Smoked moose meat, 16, 18 

Snares, used by Indians, 11, 136; 
in Nova Scotia, 137 (note); in 
Siberia, 330 

Snowshoes, ancient, 138-140 

"Speaking bull," 126 :: 327-329 

Species of moose, 56-62 

"Spitzer" bullet in hunting, 156 

Spread of antlers, 190, 191; not 
the only test of quality, 193 

Stalking, see Still-hunting 

Steak, broiling, 208 

Stella, Erasmus, quoted, 20, 355 

Stewing moose, 209; stewed 
muffle, 216 

Still-hunting, 99-119, 316-318; 
compared with calling, 100; 
need of vigilance, loi; windy 
day favorable, 105; special 
caution at midday, 106; tracks, 
106; browsing and peeling, 107; 
hunting in pairs, 107; the 
human scent in tracks, 108; 
signs indicating size, 108; teeth 
marks on trees, 109; indications 
of sex, no; hunting against the 
wind, no; hunting with the 
wind, 112; hunting out a yard, 
114; importance of seeing the 
head, 115; possible mistakes, 
116; be sure your moose is 
dead, 118; when walking is 
noisy, 148 

Stone, A. J., 81, 96, 118, 121, 131, 
226; moose not in danger of 
extermination, 32; measurement 
of Alaska moose, 64 

Stuck, Dr., quoted, 56, 221 
(note) 

Superior National Forest and 
Game Preserve, moose in, 37 

Sweden, elk in, 290, 291, 295-296; 
elk in harness, 307-309; hunt- 
ing with dog, 320; elk drives, 
326-327; calling by violin, 329; 
antlers, 337, 339. See Scandi- 
navia 

Swimming by moose, 75 :: 303 

Switzerland, elk in, 276 

Tail of moose, 69 



366 



INDEX 



Taming moose, 71 

Tanana River, 42 

Tannin in food of moose, 72 

Tanning moose skins, 201 

Tansy, elk fond of, 310 

Taxidermy, 194-198 

Teeth of the moose, 88-89, 1^9 

Temagami Forest Reserve, 185 

Thompson-Seton, see Seton 

Thoreau, 164, 246; Indian myths, 

249 
Timber not destroyed by moose, 

224 
Timber line, 180; boundary of 

moose range, 38 :: 288 
Tongue of moose, 18, 211 
Topham, Anne, the Kaiser's elk 

hunt, 294-295 
Tracking moose, 106 
Trade in moose skins, 16-17, 27, 

30 :: 292 
Traits and habits of moose, 63-98 

:: 300-315 

Ural Mountains, 288, 289, 304, 

Utilization of meat required by 
law, 230 

Van Dyke, T. S., quoted, 159 

Velvet on antlers, 172 

Venison, includes moose meat, 

204; especially adapted for 

invalids, 205; its commercial 

importance, 222-223, 225-226 
Vermont, 54, 55 ; last moose in, 33 
Vienna, International Sportsmen's 

Exhibition, 170, 179, 337 
Violin as an elk call, 329 
Virginia deer, 28, 33, 46, 67, 69, 

70, 72, 74, 76, 80, 84, 115, 224; 

migration from Asia, 4 ; first met 

by colonists, 237 
Vitality of wounded moose, 118- 

119, 160 

"Walking down" a moose, 142 

Wallow, 83 

Wapiti, 24, 30, 46, 51, 67, 72, 140, 



223, 239; migration from Asia, 

4; misnamed the elk, 237 
Ward, Rowland, Records of Big 

Game, 180, 184, 186, 187 :: 338, 

339. 345 (note); Irish elk, 

244 
Wasteful killing of moose, 25-31, 

42-43, 229 
Water, moose fond of, 75 :: 303 
Weight of moose, 66-67 •• 281- 

282, 300; of antlers, 176, 178, 

180, 181 (note), 188, 191 
West Prussia, extinction of elk in, 

281 
White clothing for hunters, 50, 

141 
Whitetail, see Virginia deer 
Whitney, Hon. Wm. C, moose in 

preserve, 35 
Wind, in still-hunting, 105, lio- 

"4 . 

Wisconsin, 55; moose m, 36; 
Ivlenomini Indian myths, 255- 

257 
Wolves, 13, 42, 136, 181 (note), 

296 
Wood, William, 136; verses on 

New England fauna, 12-13; 

describes the moose, 13 
Worm, Olaus, misbeliefs about the 

elk, 353 
Wounded moose, danger from, 76, 

80; vitahty of, I18-119, 160; 

the "Dawkins trick," 143 
Wyoming, 176, 223; moose in, 

32, 37; game law, 50-52; num- 
ber of moose increasing, 50; 

number killed, 51; Alces ameri- 

canus shirasi, 60 (note) 

Yards, 97-98, 114 

Yellowstone Park, 60 (note), 
172 (note); moose in, 38 

Yukon, 54, 55, 65, 95, 98, 122; 
game law, 52 ; number of moose 
killed, 52; utiUzation of meat 
required, 230; antlers, 180- 
182 

Yukon River, 42, 54, 258-260 



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